Dancing Leaves
by skyisthelimit
Summary: No matter the era, the leaves will flutter as they fall, marking the trials of a village, the blooming of a woman, and the growth of a boy in to a man, a man who will eventually earn the title Fire Shadow. Pre-Naruto. MinaKush.
1. When Leaves Bud

**Disclaimer: I do not own.**

**Edit: I apologize - I didn't realize till just now that I had been using the wrong verbal tic for Kushina (ttebayo, which is Naruto's verbal tic, instead of ttebane). I've fixed this.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: When Leaves Bud**

Sometime while they flew through the night sky, the moon became obscured by dark, dank clouds and the light _pitter patter_ of rain could be heard. Minato gripped the girl in his arms tighter and frowned. She had long since passed out from exhaustion, but twitched slightly in her sleep when a cold drop of moisture hit her face. Minato stopped for a moment on a large branch, sheltered above by foliage, and gently rested her against the trunk. Smoothly, he took off his jacket and covered her prone form.

He took a moment to examine her tired face, and rested his cheek on a hand. She was an oddity. Sleeping peacefully like this, she looked almost fragile, even though he knew she was anything but. Smiling slightly, he lifted her to his arms and took off once more toward the village.

When he reached the gate, several ANBU were waiting for him.

"Good work, Minato-kun," one in a dog mask said, "How did you find her?"

"I didn't find her," he said simply, "She left a trail. I just followed it." Leaving it at that, he passed the shinobi and speedily made his way to the hospital. The ANBU followed him.

"Sandaime-sama would like to see you tonight," the one in the bird mask informed him.

Minato nodded. "I'll report after Kushina-san gets some medical attention. She doesn't seem hurt but better safe than sorry. And she's definitely exhausted."

The ANBU nodded sharply. "Very well." With that, they flickered out of sight.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, before taking a long draw from his pipe. He could feel a headache beginning to form at his temples. Not even an actual jinchuriki yet and already Uzumaki Kushina apparently had a large target painted on her forehead. Not that he was all that surprised. The Uzumaki clan was renown in all the five great nations. Their chakra was strong and their skill with seals was highly valued. And here was Kushina, a young, impressionable Uzumaki, isolated from the rest of her village.

Apparently the temptation had been too great for the Raikage.

And to think, he might have almost obtained her, if it weren't for one, single _genin_.

The third hokage took another draw from his pipe before letting it out slowly, willing his shoulders to relax. Namikaze Minato. No one doubted he was a prodigy. Hiruzen knew that Jiraiya was starting to take particular interest in him. He was a level-headed boy, with strong principles and amazing battle prowess, from what he had heard. Before, Hiruzen had found that slightly hard to believe – the boy seemed too…nice. But Jiraiya's reports had claimed that the 11 year-old's gentle persona disappeared the minute he engaged an enemy. And now, to have intercepted and _bested_ an entire squad of Kumo-nin…

There was a knock on the door.

"Hokage-sama," his assistant called, "Namikaze-san is here."

"Send him in," he grunted.

The door creaked open, revealing spiky blond hair and wide blue eyes. He bowed. "Hokage-sama."

"Report."

Minato nodded. "Kushina-san had left a trail of hair as she was being led away. I found the trail and followed it. I managed to catch up to them just before the border. There were three Kumo-nin, I would say just barely chunin level. Being so close out of Leaf territory made them sloppy – I was able to sneak up on them and take them out before they really had a chance to react. They should still be there – I stuck them with chakra-suppressing seals and tied them up. But my priority was bringing Kushina-san to safety, not capturing them. So I left to bring her back to the village."

The older man nodded. "Very good. You displayed considerable skill tonight. Now, you are certain they were wearing Cloud hitai-ate?" He could make no accusations unless the ninja were clearly wearing symbols of their village.

The boy pulled something out of his pocket. "I thought you might need confirmation." He placed the forehead protector on the hokage's desk.

Sarutobi arched a brow. It was rare to see such forethought and political consideration in a genin.

"Good. Thank you. You may go, now. Submit a written report later. I'm classifying this as a B-rank."

"Understood, Hokage-sama." Minato bowed, before turning to exit the room.

When the door closed, Hiruzen took another long draw from his pipe before letting it out in a slow exhale. He gazed pensively at the Cloud hitai-ate on his desk, before flicking his eyes back to the door.

Namikaze Minato. It would be interesting to watch his development.

* * *

Kushina, dressed and ready to go, tapped her foot impatiently. "Can't you do this any faster, nurse-chan?" she demanded as she sat on the edge of her hospital bed.

The aforementioned nurse clicked her tongue. "Patience, Kushina-chan. I have to make sure your vitals are good one last time before we let you go."

"But I said I feel _fine_, 'ttebane," the red-head complained, "One good night of sleep was all I needed."

"Better safe than sorry. Now uncross those arms and let me take your blood pressure."

Kushina huffed but did as she was told. "Fine, but don't be surprised if it's a little high."

A hesitant knock grabbed both of their attentions. "Um…is it alright if I come in?" Minato stood in the doorway, polite smile ever so present on his face.

Kushina struggled to hide the blush inspired by the sight of her savior. Staring fixedly at the floor tiles at his feet, she remembered what he said to her that night.

"_You're hair is beautiful, so I noticed it right away_."

The memory made her chest feel inexplicably warm and tight. She frowned – she didn't know what to do with these new…_feelings_.

"Of course, Minato-chan," the nurse chirped, "We were just finishing up here, anyway."

"Finally," muttered the red-head. The nurse pointedly ignored her.

"That's good, is everything alright?" Kushina's stomach fluttered at his concern, but she quickly stamped the feeling down. _Calm down, Kushina. He's like this with everyone. Remember? That's why you always thought he was such a flake._

"Everything's fine," the nurse assured him, "In fact, Kushina-chan was—"

"I'm leaving," she interrupted, hopping off the bed. At the nurse's disapproving stare, she shrugged. "What? You said we were just about finished, right? And my vitals are good, so there's no reason for me to stay. Plus, I'm _starving_."

"I offered you food just a moment ago."

"Hospital food sucks."

Minato laughed. "Well, I was here to pay you a visit, but why don't I take you to lunch instead?"

This time, she couldn't hide it. An infuriatingly pink tinge spread beneath her cheeks. "It's fine. You don't have to do that 'ttebane."

Observing the two, especially the red-head's uncharacteristic behavior, the nurse giggled. _Ah, to be young again_. "That's very gentlemanly of you, Minato-chan. Kushina-chan, you should take advantage of this rare display of chivalry."

Kushina harrumphed. "Chivalry's dead. Kunoichi killed it. Now let's go." With that, she stalked past the blond into the hallway. Minato grinned and followed, while the nurse watched them go with a mischievous smirk on her face.

* * *

"Uh, is it okay for you to eat ramen just after getting out of the hospital?" Minato asked hesitantly as he watched the red-head _inhale_ her food with wide eyes.

"I'm _fine_ 'ttebane. You shouldn't have even brought me to the hospital in the first place. All I needed was a little sleep," Kushina insisted before polishing her bowl in record time. "More please, Teuchi-occhan!"

"You passed out. You had chakra draining seals on you all night. You _should_ still be weak and barely out of bed," he asserted.

Kushina shrugged. "Uzumaki are resilient. And the seals didn't get _all_ my chakra. Not even half. They were low-grade, hardly the work of a seal master. One of the idiots that had me probably just read about them in _Sealing for Dummies _or something. And I have a lot of chakra, like most of my family."

Minato's eyes brightened with interest. "You seem to know a bit about sealing."

Kushina eyed him carefully over her new bowl. "Sure. It's my clan's specialty. What's it to you?"

"Do you think you could help me out?" he asked eagerly, "I'm trying to create a new jutsu, and I think seals would be really useful for it. I've drafted something, but it's far from useable. I tried to show Jiraiya-sensei but he's a bit busy, plus he thinks my idea's impossible."

The kunoichi hesitated. "I don't know…I'm still technically in training. My mom's been teaching me, but I don't have mastery yet."

"But I bet you still know a lot more than me!" The blonde insisted, causing the red head to blink. It was a bit weird to hear that from the class genius. "Any advice or suggestions would really help."

"Well…I guess I do owe you…Fine. I'll see what I can do," she relented.

Minato beamed. "Great! Could we meet tomorrow? Training ground 7?"

"Alright," her stomach fluttered a bit when she realized she'd be spending _more_ time with him, probably _alone_ with him, but she pointedly ignored it and filled it with more ramen instead. "Just don't expect too much."

"I'm sure you'll be really helpful," he said confidently, "You're very clever."

Kushina flushed. No one's _ever_ said that to her. Most people thought of her as loud and brazen, not subtle in the least. "Yeah right, 'ttebane," she murmured.

"Really! You thought of dropping your _hair_ to leave a trail. Who would think of that? And you managed to do it without them noticing!"

He really had to stop with the praising. Or a little part of her might start to take it the wrong way.

"What was that about anyway?" she deflected.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did – how did, I mean, why bother saving me, 'ttebane?"

Minato frowned. "Of course I'd come save you. You're my comrade."

Kushina's heart sank, as a little snarky voice in her head snorted, _I told you so._

"Oh, well, thank you," she said lamely, turning away to hide her disappointment. "Teuchi-occhan! Bill please! And I'm paying for this one, too!" She jerked her thumb at her meal companion.

The ramen chef chuckled. "Your friend already paid for the both of you, Kushina-chan."

Kushina's eyes widened. "What?" She turned to look at him in disbelief. "You didn't!"

Minato grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, consider this a thank-you for agreeing to help me out!"

She slapped her forehead. "That's not how it's supposed to work! You saved me last night! I'm trying to thank you, here 'ttebane!"

"You just did."

She gave him a look. "That's not what I meant." She pulled some money out of her pocket and shoved it at him. "Here, take it."

The blond frowned. "I'm not taking your money, Kushina-san. This is my treat."

"Argh, you're just trying to get me to owe you a lot of favors, aren't you?" she groaned.

His frown deepened. "Of course not. I can't believe you'd think that."

Looking at him carefully, Kushina realized she'd actually offended him. _Geez, why's he so damned…honorable._

_A week ago, you'd have called him a sissy, not honorable._

_Shut up!_

She sighed. She had to do _something_. If she let it end here, with him paying for her, it would be like a d-_date_ and that was no good. Plus, it was against her _code_ to owe people money, dattebane! Then an idea…a horrible, horrible idea, struck her. She took a deep breath, and gathered her courage. "H-how about this – next time, it's on me, okay?"

His smile reappeared. "Sounds good."

* * *

"So, in short, you're telling me they failed," the Raikage grunted.

The shinobi in front of him dipped his head low. "Hai, Raikage-sama. When they failed to rendez-vous last night, our team went to their last known location and followed the trail. It ended just before the border."

The Sandaime Raikage sighed. It had been a risky move, attempting to abduct the young Uzumaki. But her chakra was _perfect_ for containing a tailed-beast, and the Raikage's nephew was beginning to show the signs of losing control of the retrospect, he probably should have sent more qualified ninja, but he hadn't thought it necessary for kidnapping a fresh genin. And although the ninja he sent weren't the most powerful, they _were_ very skilled at hiding their trail, which was more important for this mission._  
_

"What happened? Could you figure out any details?"

The reporting shinobi shook his head. "There were minimal signs of struggle. I think they were taken by surprise. The strangest thing, however, was that we could only ascertain one other set of tracks following them." He frowned. "As if one ninja took down the entire team."

So, some leaf ninja had gotten the drop on them. Probably one of their jonins. The Raikage suppressed a sigh. Konoha was as strong as ever. And now they had three of his chunin. _Great. I'm going to have negotiate for them, too. I hate politics._ the burly, physical man mentally grumbled._  
_

"Very well. Wrap up the investigation. Dismissed."

The shinobi disappeared.

_At this rate, we'll have to resort to Bee after all._

* * *

"Alright, so what exactly did you have in mind for this jutsu?" Kushina asked as they leaned against some training posts.

"Well, basically, space-time ninjutsu." Minato twirled a kunai absently, watching as the blade circled around his finger.

Kushina's eyes widened. "Space-time ninjutsu? Like the ones the second hokage used?"

"Somewhat. I want to make one that's practical for battle purposes though. Right now, space-time ninjutsu tend to be big, flashy, and need a lot of preparation. No one really uses them in battle."

"Because they're _difficult_. Even the best in my clan barely have a handle on it," Kushina asserted. She sighed, "Tell me exactly what you're thinking of."

With a flick of his wrist, he caught the kunai and flung it at the ground, so quickly that Kushina could barely see the movement. "I'm fast. Really fast. I've always been," he stared hard at the kunai, "But I don't ever want to be not fast enough."

"So…teleportation," the red-head realized.

"Yeah. The fastest you could possibly get."

"Well, we have the _shunshin_(1) technique."

The blond shook his head. "That's not teleportation. That's just a very swift movement, under the cover of some element like smoke, water, or whatever. It's more used for get-aways than for battle. Even in battle, with sharp enough eyes, you could follow the movement. Teleportation is instantaneous. I want to be as close to being in two places at a single moment in time as you can get."

Kushina regarded him carefully. "…Is it okay if I ask why you want to come up with this jutsu?"

Minato was silent for a moment, staring at the clouds. Then he opened his mouth to speak. "My father died when I was a baby. I don't really remember him. But my mother died when I was eight. I remember that. We were at the marketplace. A horse pulling a cart got spooked." He paused, before continuing. "It wasn't even that I was frozen. I _tried_ to get to her and push her out of the way. But I wasn't fast enough." He turned his gaze back to the kunai. "I don't ever want to be not fast enough again."

Kushina didn't know what to say, or what to do. All she could do was stare. Everyone thought that he was perfect, that nothing ever went wrong for him, that he always succeeded. But now, Kushina could see that he didn't think that. In fact, it looked like he thought he'd failed quite a bit, even for things that were completely out of his control. And although this made her fall for him just a little more, it also made her…sad.

Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his shoulder, making him turn his head and lock gazes with her. As indigo eyes bored into cerulean, some silent form of understanding passed between them, and all she said was, "I'm sorry."

He smiled softly. "I know. Thanks, Kushina-san."

"Kushina."

"Huh?"

The girl wrinkled her nose. "'Kushina-san' sounds weird. Just call me Kushina. We're going to be seeing a lot of each other, anyway. Thisjutsu is going to be a piece of work."

His smile turned into a grin. "Got it."

She reciprocated, before taking her hand off his shoulder – ignoring the subsequent tingling – and standing up, brushing herself off. "Now show me what you have so far."

* * *

Jiraiya of the sannin prided himself with being observant. No, he wasn't referring to his peeping skills. He may not be a genius like Orochimaru, but he _was_ a spy master, and thus very proficient at catching minute details without even trying.

So, of course he immediately noticed when his favorite student started spending a lot of time with a certain feisty red-head. A certain, _female_, feisty red-head.

When Jiraiya had come back from his last mission to hear about his student's latest rescue, he didn't think much of it. That was Minato for you. All around nice guy with a bit of a white-knight syndrome, he'd even say.

He even didn't think much about _how_ he'd found the girl – by noticing her _hair_ of all things – because Minato was a prodigy and was just as observant as his sensei.

But one thing that Minato _didn't_ do, much to Jiraiya's dismay, was hang around girls.

That's not to say he didn't get along with them. Oh no, Minato was very much a team player and got along just fine with his peers – uncommon for geniuses but that was what the blonde was: an uncommon genius. But he purposefully didn't spend too much time with girls.

"They…_expect_ things if I hang out too much with them," his student had said by way of explanation.

Yeah. That's right. Jiraiya, self-acknowledged super pervert, had a _gentleman_ for a student.

Go ahead, laugh at the irony.

So when Uzumaki Kushina started to show up repeatedly after training sessions – and Minato would actually _leave_ with her – Jiraiya _had _to know what was going on.

"Alright squirt, spill," he demanded during one of the their one-to-one training session.

"What do you mean, sensei?" Minato replied, the picture of innocence.

He smacked him upside the head. "You know exactly what I mean. What's going on with you and that Uzumaki girl? If I had known you like 'em feisty…."

The boy gave his teacher a disapproving look. "_Sensei_…"

"Well then set me straight! What's going on?"

He sighed. "She's just helping me with that jutsu I mentioned before."

The toad sage snorted. "The teleportation one? Yeah right. How's that coming, anyway?"

Minato looked at him indignantly. "I'm telling the truth! She knows a lot about seals, and so I asked her to help me out."

Well, she _was_ an Uzumaki, so it made sense…But still, things didn't add up.

"I thought you didn't like to spend time with girls because it," he made a face, "'gave them the wrong idea' or something like that."

The boy shrugged. "Kushina's not like that."

Jiraiya grinned. _Finally_ they were getting somewhere. "_Kushina_, eh?"

Minato gazed at him flatly. "She asked me to call her that."

"Sure. Doesn't mean you have to. I'm sure a lot of girls ask you call them a lot of things."

The blond crossed his arms. "Sensei. Don't read too much into this. Kushina is a good person, a good friend. She's been a great help with the jutsu, and she's…different. I like spending time with her. She treats me like she treats anyone else."

Jiraiya arched a brow. "Does she now? So she beats you up on a regular basis? Geez, kid, didn't know you had a masochistic streak."

Minato covered his face with his hand and groaned.

Jiraiya sighed, and clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I was joking kid. I get it." Although Minato got along with his peers, he couldn't really form strong bonds with many of them. They were too intimidated by him. Jiraiya had always been able to tell that that saddened Minato a bit, and being a singled-out student of one of the legendary sannin certainly didn't help. But that was the price of skill, and Minato always assured him that it was worth it, as long as it helped him protect his village. It was part of the reason why Jiraiya had encouraged Minato to find a girlfriend so much – being in a relationship just like any other boy would make him more accessible to his peers.

He supposed this was a step in the right direction.

Minato's shoulders relaxed, and he removed his hand. "Thanks, sensei." A thoughtful look crossed his face. "Actually, if anything, Kushina _avoids_ anything that most girls would try to take in the wrong way. It's as if she thinks she isn't…good enough." He frowned.

Jiraiya nodded. "I'm not surprised, kid. You told me she was bullied at the academy for her hair-color and face shape, didn't you? Just because she gave those brats what they had coming to them, doesn't mean their words didn't affect her."

Minato's frown deepened.

* * *

"It's time, Hiruzen."

The Third Hokage took his pipe from his lips, letting out a stream of smoke. "Hm…"

"Uzumaki Kushina is a genin now. For all intents and purposes, a full-fledged ninja of the village. It's time we tell her, so that she may start training," Homura frowned, "Mito-sama's health is slowly beginning to deteriorate."

Koharu also added, "The recent kidnapping attempt also proved that the other nations have determined Uzumaki Kushina as a desirable target with great jinchuriki potential, as we had. The abduction may have failed this time, but there are never any guarantees for next time. We must act soon."

Hiruzen gazed out the window overseeing the village. After a long moment, he sighed. "Very well."

* * *

(1) Body Flicker technique

**A/N: **So I'm taking a liberty here in interpreting Minato's words "You made me Hokage" to Kushina. But I don't think it's too unreasonable - Kushina and her clan are supposed to be famous for sealing, so I think it's very possible she helped him out with developing the Hiraishin seal.

Pretty tame chapter, but I enjoyed writing it - it was very relaxing.

Reviews are appreciated.


	2. When Leaves Flutter

**Disclaimer: Don't own, unfortunately.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: When Leaves Flutter**

Shikaku sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he cursed his developing allergies. Especially since he and Inoichi normally hung out at his flower shop when it was his turn to mind it. The Nara eyed the offending bloom gloomily. _Pollen is troublesome_.

His friend laughed at him. "Maybe you should stop coming around the shop, Shikaku."

Shikaku grunted. "Maybe. Especially since it seems to be a lot busier than usual."

Inoichi shrugged. "At least it brings in a lot of good gossip."

The black-haired, recently graduated genin gave him a bland look. "I didn't peg you for an old lady, Inoichi."

"Hey, I have to entertain myself somehow, right? Why shouldn't I get a kick out of women coming here to gossip and dream about guys who might come buy this stuff?" the blonde twirled a stem in his fingers.

"You're extremely nosy for a twelve year-old."

"We're ninja, right?" Inoichi said innocently, "Aren't we supposed to be? Oh here come some girls, now. Just watch, Shikaku – you'll see what I mean."

Shikaku grunted, but eyed the door in the corner of his eye as two girls came in.

"- I mean, I don't get it. He spends more time with her than he does with me, and I'm his _teammate_."

"Kaho-chan, even before he didn't spend all that much time with you…"

"I know, but that would have changed…eventually! I mean, we're teammates! Every ninja becomes closest with their first genin team! If it weren't for that girl, he would have noticed me, one day. And then we would have gotten closer and then – "

Shikaku and Inoichi shared a look. _Girls._

Shikaku quickly tried to pinpoint whose team this girl was on. He didn't recognize her so she wasn't in his year. But there was something familiar…

"I mean it's bad enough that Jiraiya-sensei steals half his time, but now this _girl_."

Ah. He remembered now. She was on the team that got the prodigy that graduated two years early.

"So what are we here for, exactly?" her friend asked.

"Flowers bring out my eyes. I figured I'd put some in my hair." The black-haired girl, 'Kaho', browsed some of the single stem flowers in the shop.

"But, uh, don't you only see him when you train or, like, do missions? Is a flower really going to stay in your hair? Or make you look smart?" Shikaku liked whoever this girl was, her choice in friends notwithstanding.

"Whatever. It'll be fine, Yoshino. You'll see."

"If you say so…" The girls were at the counter now, purchasing 'Kaho's' flower. Because of their close proximity, Shikaku could hear the other girl, 'Yoshino', mutter, "Maybe he doesn't spend time with you _on purpose_."

Shikaku suppressed on a chuckle. Okay, maybe Inoichi was right. This was entertaining. Though he would never admit it, he thought as he watched the aforementioned boy waggle his eyebrows at him as the two girls left.

Though not before the 'Kaho' girl said one last thing before the door slammed shut. "Just you wait. I'll get Minato-kun asking me out before summer's out, _Uzumaki Kushina_ or not."

_Poor Namikaze. _Girls were troublesome. He was extremely glad that this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho's trio was all boys.

* * *

It was falling again.

Minato watched, fascinated, as the strand of hair Kushina had _just_ tucked behind her ear started slipping from its place as she focused on the seal in front of her. Slowly, it slid down until it hung in her face…

Kushina huffed and tucked the startling red strands back behind her ear. "Stupid hair."

"I think it's pretty," Minato insisted.

Kushina flushed slightly. "No one else thinks so. You're the minority."

Minato shrugged. "People don't know what to do when they come across something different. That's all."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "And you do?"

He grinned and jerked a thumb at his own hair. "My hair stands out, too."

And it did. It wasn't just blonde, it was _blonde. _The brightest, yellowest thing she'd ever seen. Didn't help that it refused to lie flat, spiking up in every which way.

She smirked. "Point taken, blondie."

He scowled. "That's not going away, is it?"

"We'll see, blondie."

Minato sighed as she turned her attention back to the seal. They had been at it for a month or so, and were making some progress. Kushina had the great idea of using the summoning seal as their starting point, and they'd been going from there. Now they were trying to mimic the "contract" aspect – basically, figuring out a way to use chakra as a link between two points. He smiled as she muttered to herself, hearing the "dattebane" slip out every now and then. It was…refreshing, spending time with her. She seemed to have endless energy (not to mention a bottomless stomach) and was a very straightforward, genuine person – something one didn't often see in ninja.

The strand slipped again.

She groaned and tucked it back. "I should just cut it. No one likes it anyway."

Minato frowned. "I like it."

She snorted. She had finally gotten used to him complimenting her hair. "You don't count." She sighed, taking an end and twirling it. "All it does is give me grief. At least if I cut it, it would be out of my way."

"But _you_ like your hair," Minato observed.

She scowled at him. "No I don't. You heard me when that sissy tried to get his genin brother to bully me. I hate my hair."

"Then why have you kept it long all this time?" he asked. She averted her eyes and he continued his speculations. "I remember what you said. You said that you're you, hair and all. I think you're secretly proud of your hair, because it's part of what defines you. And if there's one thing I think the whole village agrees on, Kushina, it's that you're not ashamed of yourself."

Kushina scowled at him for a moment, before her shoulders slumped in resignation. "I _do_ hate my hair, in a sense. I hate that people made fun of me for it. I hate that it made my academy days so miserable. I hate that I had to constantly fight because of it. And I'm not proud of my hair. Really. But…I do respect it."

Minato blinked, surprised, but waited for her to continue as she fingered the lines of the seal in front of her. "This red hair – it's sort of characteristic to the Uzumaki clan. Back in Whirlpool, people respected this hair color, because it meant you were from one of the oldest families in the village. My hair is part of what defines me as an Uzumaki." Her voice began to grow stronger, "And I _am_ proud to be one. I'm _proud_ that my name is Uzumaki Kushina. And some day, _everyone_ will respect my name! I'll make sure of it." She smirked. "Wait and see. Eventually, everyone's going to be clamoring for red dye and wigs!"

Minato regarded her for a moment, before he broke into a large grin. "Haha!"

Kushina immediately whipped toward him and bonked him on the head. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!"

"Ow," Minato insisted, still chuckling a little. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing because that's just what I'd expect of you. Or rather, wouldn't expect."

She looked at him as if he were insane. "Did I hit you too hard in the head?"

That sent Minato into another fit of laughter, and even though he could hear Kushina going, "Seriously, you alright? Wait, this isn't your first time being hit on the head, is it? Crap! I broke you, didn't I 'ttbane? Do I take you to hospital? Hey!" he kept laughing. He really did like hanging out with her.

Because just when he thought he had her figured out, she'd find _some_ way to surprise him, but in a way that completely fit what he thought of her in the first place. It would make most people's heads spin, but to Minato, it's what made her fun.

Except, he couldn't help but think, _Her kids are going to be nuts._

* * *

"Minato-kun!" a girl squealed, running up to him and stopping just a few inches before his face.

Minato blinked and took a step back. "Uh, hi, Kahoko-san."

The black-haired girl pouted. "Minato-kun, I've told you a million times. Call me 'Kaho' or 'Kaho-chan'! We're teammates after all."

"Um, I wouldn't want to seem impolite, Kahoko-san," the blonde took another step backward, his smile nervous.

"But you call that Uzumaki girl by her first name!"

Minato frowned. "That's a very rude way to refer to Kushina, Kahoko-san."

Kahoko growled and opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of their third teammate.

"What the heck is in your hair, Nazono?" a boy with short, curly, ashen hair landed lightly by the two at the village gates.

Kahoko flushed slightly, fingering the delicate petals of the flower that she had pinned up into her hair, before scowling at the boy. "It's a flower, Borome. Can't you tell? Or is all that squinting actually messing up your vision?"

"I can see that, but it's the stupidest thing you've ever done so I just wanted to make sure! How the hell is it any type of practical to put a _flower_ in your hair? Especially since we're about to go on a mission!"

"Shut up! What would you know about fashion – you're a boy!"

Minato sighed, wishing sensei would hurry and show up. His team was decent, but sometimes their antics could grate on even his never-ending patience. Kahoko more so than Borome. Idly, he wondered how Kushina was with her team. If he remembered correctly, her genin team was composed of clan heirs like herself. An Inuzuka and a Hyuuga. Very unlike his own team, which consisted of first generation academy graduates like himself – the exact reason Jiraiya had picked this team to teach, in fact (apparently he didn't want to risk dealing with 'those snotty clan parents').

Speaking of his sensei, the sannin finally decided to show up for their mission. "Yo! Everyone ready?"

"You haven't told us what the mission is, sensei," Minato reminded him.

"Ah right, right. We're just visiting one of outposts to pick up some reports. Nothing too serious, but a little too valuable to entrust to a messenger bird. A solid C-rank."

"How far is the outpost?" Would they have to camp out tonight? It was already very late. The sun was just about done setting.

"Not too far. Ten kilometers or so. We should be back before dawn. Then you kids can have the day off."

While Borome and Kahoko whooped, Minato stayed silent. _They_ may have the day off, but _he_ had a training session with Jiraiya-sensei that definitely wasn't canceled, and he was meeting Kushina again. He wasn't going miss that, either.

"Well, let's get going then! Sooner we leave, the faster we can come home! There's a…_gathering_ at the bath hous- I mean, the Hokage's office that I absolutely cannot miss in the morning!" Jiraiya's face stretched into a dorky smile, while Borome shook his head sadly and Kahoko clenched her fist, poised to strike.

Minato suppressed another sigh.

* * *

"I'm home, 'ttebane," Kushina called tiredly.

"Welcome home," one of the attendants bowed, "Your father is at a meeting, but your mother is in the kitchen."

"Thanks, baa-chan," the girl replied dully. She proceeded to trek to where her mother was. It was past dinner time, but maybe she'd be able to beg some food off of her.

She found her mother, wrapped in a warm shawl, enjoying a cup of tea. The room was dark, however, with gloomy shadows cast into the corners. For one of the best sealers in the clan, Uzumaki Yuuhiko looked awfully frail and…_little_ in the dim light. Kushina sighed.

"Hi, kaa-chan."

Her mother smiled. "Oh, welcome back, Kushina. You're home late."

"We had a mission today – babysitting one of the council member's children while he and his wife went out for their anniversary," Kushina explained as she grabbed a rice ball and sat with her mother.

Yuuhiko's smile became strained. "Oh? How nice."

Kushina restrained another sigh. "Kaa-chan…"

"So, Kushina," her mother interrupted, "Tell me about this boy you've been spending time with."

Immediately, her cheeks flushed red. "W-who told you about that?"

Yuuhiko chuckled. "Oh, it's all over town, honey. Apparently this boy has quite the following."

The younger girl groaned, letting her forehead fall onto the table.

Her mother's smile grew mischievous. "From what I hear, he's a very exceptional boy. You should bring him home to visit."

Kushina lifted her head, mortified. "Kaa-chan! It's not like that!"

Yuuhiko arched a brow. "Would you like it to be?"

"N-No!"

"I think that after eleven years I can tell if my daughter was lying."

The girl groaned and covered her face with her palms. "Just drop it, kaa-chan. It's not like that and that's all there is to it."

Yuuhiko giggled. "Alright. But really. You should invite him over – we should thank him for rescuing you that time."

"It's fine, kaa-chan. I already did. I paid for his ramen."

"Oh? So you two are sharing meals together, too?"

"Argh!" Kushina stood, her chair making a loud scraping sound against the floor. "I'm going to bed. Good night, kaa-chan."

"Good night, Kushina!" her mother called, still chuckling. The older woman turned back to her tea, watching the ripples in the green-tinted water. Her fingers slid around the cup, and she flicked her eyes at the shadowed room around her, before her shoulders slumped, and she sighed.

"Be careful, my little Kushina…"

* * *

Minato stopped short and held his hand out, causing his teammates, Jiraiya in the back, to cease their run as well.

His sensei grinned. _Very good, brat._

The blonde's hand flicked out, sending a kunai into a nearby brush. A _thwack_ could be heard, and three figures shot out of the forest, bearing Iwa hitai-ate's.

"Good instincts, for a kid," one remarked.

Jiraiya sighed, stepping forward. "Damn. And here I was hoping to get back by dawn. Right – you all know the drill." His team nodded, crouching into ready positions, waiting for his signal.

The enemy launched forward. "_Now,_" Jiraiya called. Minato and his teammates shot out, Borome and Kahoko aiming for the one on the left, Minato engaging the one on the right, leaving the man in the middle, the leader, to Jiraiya.

The sannin caught his attacker's weapon with a kunai of his own. "Ho, ho. Now what brings you folk so deep into the Fire country, tailing my team, hm?"

The Iwa-nin sneered. "Who knows?"

"Well, it'd be a shame if no one did. That would be a waste of a lot of energy on your part," Jiraiya remarked mildly, before putting a little more strength into the kunai, causing the enemy to spring back.

"Instead of worrying about that, you should be worrying about your little genin. We're all chuunin you see, and we—" He was cut short by a blade held to his throat.

"Blabber too much, apparently," the sannin remarked. "Though, Minato, you're supposed to help your teammates, not your sensei, first."

The blonde shifted his grip on the kunai so that he could deliver a swift blow to the Iwa-nin's neck, knocking him out. "They need the experience. You don't."

"Hm, I suppose. You should be careful though – keep knocking out chuunin like this and eventually it's going to get out that you're the one actually taking them out."

Minato knelt to tie the attacker up. "It's not that big of a deal. These were barely chuunin level."

"By how quick he was to brag about the fact, I'd say so. Still, I thought it was your dream to become hokage, kid, not take the fast track to the bingo books."

The blonde shrugged. "Anyway, sensei, why were these ninja sent after us? This mission wasn't one that involved any other parties or countries." He turned his piercing blue eyes to the toad sage. "Are you _sure_ these reports we're bringing back don't hold sensitive information?"

Jiraiya snorted, "Unless you consider budgeting 'sensitive', which I guess some folk would. We'll find out, Minato, don't worry about it. We'll take these three back in one of my toads."

Minato nodded, before going to help Kahoko and Borome tie up their own assailant, whom they had just defeated.

Jiraiya stepped over to where Minato just left, peering at the Rock ninja's face from above. He was already pretty certain why this squad was trailing them. There was only one logical reason to give a mission to collect reconnaissance on a team of genin.

_Feeling out future Konoha chuunin already, eh Oonoki? You paranoid old geezer. _Jiraiya sighed. He was going to actually have to make a stop at the Hokage's office in the morning after all. It looked like word had gotten out that Konoha would be having their next chuunin exams soon. _Which means…we have a leak. Great. More work for me. _

* * *

"Uzumaki Kushina."

Startled, Kushina shot up from her futon, kunai in hand. "Who's there?"

An ANBU appeared from the shadows. "Pardon the disturbance, Uzumaki-san. But Sandaime-sama requests your presence."

"Now?" she asked incredulously. It was barely dawn.

"Hai. I will wait outside." With that, the bear-faced ANBU faded away.

Kushina frowned. What could be so important that the hokage would want to meet with her so early? It couldn't be some important mission – she was just a genin, and had only just started getting basic C-rank missions.

As she mulled, she quickly threw on her clothes and grabbed her weapons pouch, before meeting the ANBU at the gates of her family's compound. Silently, they took off for the hokage's tower.

When they arrived at his office, two other elders were in the room as well. "Thank you, Cat. Dismissed."

The ANBU bowed and left.

"Kushina-chan. Good morning," Hiruzen said kindly.

The confused red-head returned the greeting hesitantly. "Good morning. Um, am I in trouble?" She couldn't figure out how – she hadn't pulled a prank in some time – but what other reason could there be? Although, that didn't explain why the two elders were there, or why they looked so grim. Then again, Kushina was pretty sure they always looked like that.

"No, nothing of the sort. How are you, though? I haven't had the chance the check up with you after the Kumo incident."

Kushina blinked slowly. The hokage was known as a nice, caring man, but he'd never paid any particular attention to her. This was very strange. "I'm fine."

"Enough stalling, Sarutobi," the old woman behind him asserted, "Hurry and inform her."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. "Inform me of what?"

Hiruzen sighed, his gaze flicking over his shoulder at the old woman, before returning to the girl. "Kushina, have you ever wondered why you were brought to this village?"

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "My parents were sent to help strengthen Uzushio's and Konoha's relationship."

The hokage shook his head. "Not quite. _You _were brought here specifically."

A nervous sensation started to bubble up in Kushina's stomach. "Wh-what do you mean, 'ttebane?"

"Kushina, did you know that you have very special chakra?"

"Well, yeah." She lifted a hand and a chakra chain dropped from it. "Others can't do this."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, you're chakra is very potent – potent enough to have a solid physical manifestation."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"When you're parents and your village's leader found this out, they immediately contacted us. They knew we were looking for someone like you."

"Why?"

At this, Hiruzen paused, before twining his fingers together in front of his face. "What do you know about Uzumaki Mito, Kushina?"

Kushina scrunched up her face, trying to remember what she had learned. She didn't pay all that much attention to history classes in the academy, but she did remember this lesson for the most part, since it had to do with one of her own clansmen. "She was the Shodai Hokage's wife, and very good at sealing."

"And?"

Kushina thought more. She had learned some other things about her distant relative from her family, though it was a bit difficult remember. But she recalled bed time stories about the battle between the first hokage and Uchiha Madara, and how Mito-sama had aided her husband during the fight…

Kushina's eyes widened.

_No._

"N-no," she stuttered, taking a step back. "Y-you don't, y-you _can't_."

"Kushina, I know this is distressing, but it can only be you."

She took another step back. "You brought me here, t-to make me a _monster_?"

"Child," the older woman from before frowned, "Compose yourself. You should be honored –"

"Honored?" Kushina squeaked, face pale and distraught, "_You want to seal the Kyuubi into me!"_

This time, the male elder spoke up, "You're chakra is best suited for this, girl."

She turned her wide, frightened gaze at him, "That's it? That's enough reason to make me _more_ of a freak? More different? I was _finally_ starting to make my place here, and now you want to make my life here miserable? Well, you _can't_. I won't do it! I won't! Y-you can't make me!" She was close to tears, and couldn't hold back the dry heaves ripping their way from her chest.

"We most certainly can," the old lady snapped.

"Koharu," the hokage reprimanded, "Enough." He stood from his desk and approached the girl, who shrank away from him.

"N-no!" she shrieked, hysteria beginning to leak from her voice, "St-stay away from me! St-stay away!"

"Kushina," he rumbled, "Calm down." He placed a hand on her shoulder, ignoring her flinch. She felt a coolness emanate from his touch, forcing her body to relax. Once her panic subsided, he said, "Now, listen to me."

She stared at the floor. "Pl-please don't make me," she all but whimpered.

Sarutobi looked at her sympathetically, but asked, "Kushina, do you consider this place your home?"

She glanced up at him. "H-huh?"

"Do you consider this place your home?" he repeated.

"Y-yeah." By this time, she'd lived most of her life here, and although the kids were immature and prejudiced, she liked this village. The adults were nice, the air was peaceful but full of energy, and…

_A boy with blue eyes and blonde hair smiled at her_.

"If you consider Konoha your home, then the Will of Fire has been lit inside you." He pointed to her heart. "That Will is what protects this village."

"Y-you mean this is how I can protect this village."

He nodded. "Yes. So long as you have something to protect in this place you call home, this Will will burn in you. It can be a heavy burden sometimes, but it will never go out. Now, do you have something in this village you wish to protect, Kushina?"

"_I don't ever want to be not fast enough again."_

"_I want to be a great hokage that everyone in the village will respect." _

"_You're very clever."_

"_Thanks, Kushina-san."_

"_I was laughing because that's just what I'd expect of you. Or rather, wouldn't expect."_

"_You're hair is beautiful, so I noticed right away."_

Kushina closed her eyes, and tears finally began to stream down her cheeks.

"Yes…"

* * *

**A/N: There. Minimal plot progression, but new characters being introduced! I based Minato's team off of the single picture out there of it. I extrapolated on their characters, obviously, but hey, it's fanfiction. I'm allowed to. **

**Have I mentioned how annoying it is that Kishimoto does not like sticking to or stating a specific timeline? I did a lot of research and I still can't figure out when some things have happened and others haven't. In any case, I'm making this take place a little after the Second Shinobi World War. Forgive me if this conflicts with the timeline you have in your head but I feel like Naruto leaves a lot of chronology up in the air. But please, let me know if you see any glaring contradictions to canon timeline. I'm trying to stick as close to it as possible.**

**Reviews are very appreciated!**


	3. When Leaves Droop

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

* * *

Minato frowned.

_She's late_.

Kushina, while not a particularly punctual person, was never late by more than ten minutes or so. And she always came with some sort of reason on her lips. To be late by an _hour_ though…

_Something must be wrong_.

Minato's scowl deepened. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night previous. As his sensei had predicted, it was nearly dawn by the time they had returned from their mission and reported to the hokage. He had managed to get a few hours of shut-eye before his training session in the morning, where he was thoroughly trounced due to his lack of focus. Now he was sitting around doing nothing but waiting for his red-headed friend. All in all, this day had put the young blonde in an irritated mood.

_I mean, I'd get if she had something come up, but couldn't she let me know?_

He sighed, brushed himself off, and began to make his way home, determined to take a nap and hopefully put himself in a better mood for the remainder of the day. Half way there, though, a tomato stand caught his eye, and his thoughts wandered back to the young kunoichi.

_I wonder what happened_.

He shook his head. It was none of his business.

He passed a hair accessory store, displaying shiny black barrettes in its windows.

_I hope everything's okay._

He turned decidedly away from the store. She was strong. He knew she was strong. She was fine.

He passed their favorite ramen stand.

_Unless she was kidnapped again…_

Minato halted, and slowly his feet twisted in the dirt until he was facing the opposite direction. Then he took off.

_That's ridiculous. She couldn't be kidnapped _again_. And I'm sure her family upped security after what happened. _

Nonetheless, he found himself pushing harder towards the Uzumaki compound, ignoring the anxious feeling bubbling up in his stomach. _Everything's fine, _he told himself, _Something just came up. Last minute mission. Stomach bug. Family pet died. That's all._

Still, he held his breath as he broke through the last bit of trees that surrounded the large manor. Immediately, though, he came across an attendant, causing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Excuse me," he called, causing the worker to turn her attention towards him. "I'm looking for Uzumaki Kushina? I'm a friend."

The attendant nodded. "She's in her room. Go ahead to the entrance. One of the attendants there will lead you to her."

Minato bowed. "Thank you." He set a brisk, but leisurely pace up the walkway, taking his time to admire the large, picturesque manor lent to the highly respected Uzumaki of Uzushiogakure. The last time he'd been here, the entire household had been placed under a strong genjutsu. He remembered rousing people up, trying to find out if anyone had seen what had happened to Kushina, when he chanced an investigation of the gardens to find bright, fiery strands of hair laying strategically at the edge of the grounds.

Minato found his shoulders relaxing as he strolled under large, looming trees and through scenic gardens. The flowers were very well looked after, here. Minato mildly wondered if Kushina liked gardening. He doubted it – it didn't really fit her tough-girl image, but then again, nothing really did. She might surprise him, like she did yesterday.

Soon enough, the blonde found himself at the entrance. Another attendant bowed. "May I help you?"

"Um, I'm here to see Kushina? We were supposed to meet, and when she didn't come I just wanted to make sure everything was okay…"

The servant's eyes widened with understanding. "Of course. You're the boy who saved the young mistress when she was kidnapped." She dipped into a lower bow. "You have no idea how grateful we are for your heroic actions."

Minato rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed and awkward. "Oh really, it was nothing. I wanted her back, too, you know."

The attendant straightened to scrutinize him closely, making Minato fidget. She was an older servant, probably a long-employed housekeeper. Her shrewd looks made him think she knew and observed a lot more than she let on. "Yes, perhaps you can help," she finally said, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Come."

He obediently followed her through the halls until they reached the edge of the main house, taking a walkway that hugged the outer rim of the building. When they reached a certain screen, she bowed. "The mistress is in here."

"Thank you." He bowed back, missing the look of surprise on the older woman's face before she retreated.

Minato turned to knock lightly on one of the wooden frames. "Kushina?"

No response.

Minato frowned and knocked harder. "Kushina? It's me, Minato. Is everything alright?'

The silence stretched long enough for Minato to contemplate knocking again, before he heard a thick, hoarse voice reach him through the screen. "_Go away._"

Startled, Minato felt the last remaining vestiges of his irritation from the day fly away. Something was definitely wrong.

"Kushina, are you alright? Can I come in?"

"No! Go away!"

Was she…crying?

Minato was floored. Urgently he called, "I just want to make sure you're okay. What happened?"

"It's none of your business! Now get lost!" Her voice was definitely shaky, almost…desperate.

Minato's concern peaked, and he firmly gripped the wooden frame and slid it aside. "No. Not until you—" He stopped himself midsentence when he was finally able to see into the room.

_K-Kushina?_ Minato's stomach rolled with queasiness. He had never, _ever_ seen her like this. Not even when she was getting teased and bullied. Not even that day under the cherry blossom trees. She was curled up into a defensive little ball under her covers. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were splotchy. Her shoulders were hunched, as if the entire world had it out for her. Her beautiful, lovely, flame-colored hair hung limply and lifelessly down her back.

Her normally brilliant indigo eyes glared dully at him. "I told you to go away." She curled up tighter under her blanket and looked away. "You shouldn't be here."

"A-are you sick?"

"No. I'm fine. Now _go away_."

Minato stepped forward, raising a hand to place it on her shoulder.

She _jerked _back and slapped it away. "_Leave!_" she said so ferociously that he took a step back.

"I—"

"There's nothing you can do so _go! _Go, go, _GO!_" Her voice broke, and her lips trembled. "Just…just leave me _alone_…" she finally whimpered. "I-I can't look at you right now."

Something in his chest felt tight. "Did I…do something?"

She shook her head. "You did nothing wrong. I'm just…screwed up. You shouldn't be here, be around _me_. Just leave." She hung her head, looking so utterly broken that Minato was afraid she would shatter with the smallest breeze.

"Kushina, I—"

"_Please_," she whimpered, with so much feeling that without really meaning to, Minato found himself backing out and shutting the door.

Dazed, he sat down on the edge of the walkway, gazing unseeingly at the small pond in the courtyard.

_What…What _happened_ to her?_

* * *

"Uzumaki-sama is here to see you, Hokage-sama," his secretary informed him.

Hiruzen sighed. "Let him in," he called before bracing himself for the visit from the ambassador, no doubt here to question him about what had happened with his daughter.

Last night could definitely have gone better. The girl was unable to stop crying, and an ANBU had to carry her home. Honestly, it was heart wrenching to see the state she had been in. Sarutobi couldn't even imagine how his own children would have reacted if they had been told they had been brought here solely to be the Kyuubi's container. Kushina had eventually agreed, but that didn't make him feel any less guilty.

_Such pain and suffering…all for the sake of the power balance between villages_.

Speaking of which, his meeting with Jiraiya earlier had certainly added to his stress for the day. _A leak…_That was the last thing he needed. Organizing a chuunin exam was no easy task, without having to worry about spies and invasion attempts. _First Kumogakure, now Tsuchigakure. Each conflict giving rise to a new one. If I'm not careful, we'll have yet another war on our hands._

The door finally creaked open, letting the Uzumaki in, but not the Uzumaki he was expecting.

"Yuuhiko-san."

The woman nodded. "Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen began to feel a sense of foreboding settle around him. Fathers, he could handle. He was a father himself._ Mothers_, on the other hand…

"What can I do for you, Yuuhiko-san?"

"You told my daughter about the circumstances of our coming here last night." While her face was blank and unreadable, her voice was stony and hard, reminding Hiruzen that the current Uzumaki ambassador had married into the family. Standing before him was the true member of the impressive clan.

He touched his fingers into a steeple. "Yes, I did."

"I was under the impression that you would discuss such actions with my husband and me before informing her."

"Over the last month I did discuss the matter with your husband. He understood the pressure the council was placing on the issue, and agreed that it was time." He had assumed – no, he had _hoped_ that the man had informed his wife about the decision, but obviously that wasn't the case.

The woman's face flashed with fury, before settling back into an emotionless expression. "You _will _wait for _my_ permission before you seal the Kyuubi into her. Regardless of what my _husband_ may say, _I_ am the one who holds most authority over Kushina. She is _my_ daughter. And it is I, not my husband, who possess Mito-sama's support as well." She turned on her heel and strode to the door. Before exiting, though, she said, "I am _most _disappointed, Hokage-sama. The Shodai built this shinobi village for the protection of its inhabitants, including its shinobi. We are soldiers, protecting this place for the sake of those we love; we are not tools for the councils bidding. You will do well to remember that."

The door clicked shut.

Sarutobi leaned back into his chair, fighting the urge to slump his shoulders. Sometimes, he felt that he was too old for this job.

* * *

Uzumaki Yuuhiko was _furious_. It was one thing for her husband's idiocy and pig-headedness to hurt her, but it was another thing entirely when their daughter was involved. Kushina was young, naïve, and innocent in every way that mattered. Although a tough girl on the surface, she still saw good before she saw bad, and could be horribly sensitive to certain things. _She wasn't ready_.

When Yuuhiko had agreed that Kushina would be the Kyuubi's next Jinchuuriki, she immediately insisted that they move to Konoha, so that Kushina could begin making the necessary bonds that would give her a reason to protect the great shinobi village. That way, when the time came for Kushina to learn of her purpose here, she would understand.

That was just two years ago. Not nearly enough time for Kushina to learn what it meant to protect something.

But that _darn_ council and her _darn_ husband and the _darn_ hokage had panicked after the Kumo incident, and had 'jumped the shuriken', so to speak.

And now she was left with a miserable, lost daughter who had holed herself into her room, refusing to see anyone, including her own mother.

She strode briskly into the manor, ignoring the attendants who greeted her, making a beeline for her daughter's room. She doubted the situation had changed, but Yuuhiko still wanted to check on her. She probably hadn't eaten today either. If things weren't better by tomorrow…

_Perhaps I should arrange for her to talk to Mito-sama…_

Her steps slowed as she rounded the last corner, reluctant to see her only child in such a pathetic state and be helpless to do anything. But the sight that greeted her made Yuuhiko stop completely in surprise.

A young boy stood hesitantly in front of her daughter's room, fidgeting nervously. His hand was partially raised, as if to knock, but when he noticed Yuuhiko it immediately dropped.

"May I ask what you are doing here?" Yuuhiko inquired, curious.

The boy hastily bowed. "Uzumaki-san. I, uh, I'm a friend of Kushina's."

"Oh?" She took a careful look at the boy who spoke of her daughter with such familiarity. _Blonde, spiky hair, blue eyes…_ Her eyes lit with realization. "Ah, you are Namikaze Minato."

"Uh, yes I am. You must be Kushina's mother." He bowed again. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Yuuhiko felt a flicker of amusement. _He certainly is a…polite boy_. "Likewise. However, you still haven't answered my question, Namikaze-kun."

The young prodigy looked flustered. "Oh, well- I came here earlier and saw that Kushina wasn't…feeling well."

She arched a brow. "And?"

"A-and I, I mean, I didn't know – I just, that is…" Minato took a breath to collect himself. "I know she probably hasn't eaten anything," he said quietly and held up his other hand, which Yuuhiko saw was holding a carry-out bag. "I brought her some ramen. It's her favorite."

Yuuhiko's lips curled into a genuine but sad smile. "That's very kind of you, but I'm sorry to say that my daughter is refusing to see anyone right now. Even myself."

Minato frowned. "I realize, but…she needs to eat. Please, if you could just let me try…"

She held a hand. "I must respect my daughter's wishes."

The boy looked at her carefully with piercing cerulean eyes, before dipping into another shallow bow. "I understand. Sorry to intrude." With that, a swirl of leaves started to dance and circle around him, and then he vanished.

_He can do the shunshin technique already? He really is a prodigy, _she mused before deliberately turning away from Kushina's room, suppressing a smile when she sensed the child sneaking back in through a window. _Well, at the very least, they match each other in stubbornness. _

* * *

The room was dark and musty when Minato swept silently into the room. To his immense disappointment and concern, Kushina was exactly how he had last seen her.

He crouched in front of her and his chest tightened when she gazed right past him, as if he wasn't even there.

"Kushina," he whispered. She didn't respond. "Kushina," he tried again.

Her form finally jerked, and she flicked her eyes to focus on his face in surprise. "M-Minato?" her voice was scratchy from disuse. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes narrowed. "I told you to leave 'ttebane!"

"You never said not to come back," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes, and the sarcastic gesture that was completely Kushina coupled with the verbal tic made Minato practically giddy with hope.

"I brought you salt ramen. From Ichiraku's," he quickly bribed before she could kick him back out.

She stared blankly at the carry out bag. Minato could tell that her stomach was currently locked in a fierce battle with her mind, and eventually her stomach won out. She reached for the bag and pulled out the container. "Thanks," she muttered.

Minato just smiled, removed the lid for her, and gave her a pair of chopsticks.

He sat with her for a while, content to just watch her eat and slowly regain some of her usual vivacity. When she was almost done, though, he had to ask.

"So…do you want to talk about it?"

Kushina raised the container to her lips to drink some of the broth, before setting it back on her lap. "…I don't think we should hang out anymore."

Minato jerked. "What?" That was _not_ what he meant by 'talking about it'.

"I'm sorry that I'm backing out like this," she continued before he could say anything more, "But you've made a lot of headway into the jutsu –"

"_We've_ made a lot of headway into the jutsu!"

"—and you should be fine on your own from now on. You're really smart, Namikaze. I don't think there's much more I can help you with."

"That's not true! And even if it was, so what? Even if the justu was _finished_, why shouldn't webe able to hang out?" Minato was incredulous, and frantic. He really, _really_ liked spending time with Kushina. It was the only time he felt like a normal fellow ninja, not some glamorous prodigy.

The red-head snorted. "Why would we? You're a league of your own, Namikaze. You graduated two years early – "

"You graduate early too!"

"Only by a year. And that was just because kids enter the academy earlier in Whirlpool. I'm nothing special in terms of being a ninja."

"Yes, you are. You've got amazing levels of chakra, and you're strong –"

"I'm not saying I'm a _bad_ ninja. Just not in your league."

"I don't think so. And who cares? I like hanging out with you, Kushina. Do you not?"

Kushina closed her eyes. "Of course I do," she almost whispered.

"Then what's the problem?" Minato demanded, starting to get frustrated that she wouldn't look at him.

When she finally turned to stare directly into his eyes, however, he became unnerved by her steeliness.

"I'm no good for you, Namikaze. You're better off without me."

Minato frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm an outsider. Don't you want to become Hokage? Hanging around a foreigner isn't going to help you any."

"I told you before, didn't I? You're not an outsider. You live in this village. You fight for this village. You're one of us."

She closed her eyes again. "Not according to some people."

"_Some_ people. And you know they only say that because they're intimidated by you. I know that better than anyone. Everybody else sees you as a part of the village, Kushina."

She opened her eyes again, and Minato was surprised to see that they were a little glassy. "I know what I'm saying, Namikaze. I'm not good for you. For anyone really. Please, can't you just trust me on this?"

Minato held her gaze with his bright, cerulean eyes, "I do trust you, Kushina," he said, completely serious, "Which is exactly why I can't do what you want me to do. Why would I push away someone I trust?" He stood up. "Unless you say you hate me, or don't like my company, I see absolutely no reason to stop hanging out. So I'll be back in the morning to do exactly that." He made his way to the door, leaving her to sit there in silence.

Before he left, though, he said in a softer tone, "Get some sleep, Kushina," over his shoulder. She didn't respond. Just stared out the window, her shoulders slumped, clutching at the ramen container on her lap.

He opened the door, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him.

_I don't understand…_

* * *

Low murmurs whispered around the area. It was a quiet weeknight that saw only a handful of people going to the bar to grab a few glasses of sake. One woman, however, had been there for most of the night, sitting alone despite her pretty features and generous curves. People knew to avoid her, unless they wanted broken bones.

At one point, however, a brave man sat on the stool next to her and ordered a bottle of sake. She paid him no mind.

They drank in silence for a long moment, before the man tried to give it a go.

"Lovely night, isn't it? Perfect for a lovely lady such as yourself."

The blonde woman drained her saucer before placing it down on the counter. "Cut the crap, Jiraiya. What are you doing here?"

The man grinned. "What, can't a guy grab a drink with his old teammate?"

She simply glared at him while pouring another glass.

"Shouldn't you slow down? Drinking is one of the shinobi vices, you know."

Tsunade snorted. "You're one to talk."

Jiraiya frowned. "He wouldn't want to see you like this, you know."

"How would you know?" she snapped, "You didn't even like him."

"Well I still say he was a pansy," Jiraiya asserted, "But he was a good ninja, with lots of ambitions. Ambitions he can't fulfill anymore. There's no reason for you not to fulfill yours, though, but instead you're just sitting here wallowing away in alcohol."

Tsunade growled. "What do you want, Jiraiya?"

He shrugged. "I need a favor."

"What?"

"I'm going to have to leave the village for a bit. But the chuunin exams are coming up, and my team needs training."

She gave him a disbelieving look. "You want _me_ to train your snot-nosed brats while you're gone?"

"Yep," he said cheerfully.

"Jiraiya, you _know_ how I am with blood now."

He snorted. "You don't need to draw blood to beat them into a pulp - I know that better than anyone." He rubbed his chest gently, wincing with the memories.

Tsunade suppressed a smirk. "Still…"

"Come on. I know you're barely taking missions anymore. This will give you something to do." He clapped his hands in front of his face and winked. "Please?"

Tsunade looked at him for a long moment, before finally saying, "Fine. But they'd better not whine too much, or I can't guarantee they'll still be alive when you get back."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Fair enough. Trounce 'em good. Oh, I've also been giving Minato some one-on-one training. It's up to you if you want to do that too."

"Namikaze Minato? The kid everyone's calling a genius?" Tsunade regarded him carefully. "Weird. You usually can't stand that type."

"Hey, Minato's nothing like snake-face." He took another sip of sake, before smiling. "He's a good kid. Lots of dreams and potential. He'll go far."

Tsunade arched a brow. Out of the three sannin, Jiraiya was the only one to take on students. First there were those three Ame orphans, and then when he got back, he had taken on a genin team. Oddly enough, being a mentor fit him, despite his vices. It made Tsunade wonder if he'd ever have kids of his own.

"Hmph," she said aloud, "We'll see. I'm not going easy on him just because he has some special attention from you. Especially if you've had a bad _influence_ on him."

Jiraiya laughed. "Ha! No, trust me, he's not like that at all. In fact, he's a perfect _gentleman_," Jiraiya made a face, "despite my best efforts. Actually, for a while I was worried he was asexual."

"He's _eleven._"

"He's a male."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Well, what made you stop worrying?"

He grinned. "Let's just say I'm pretty sure he's developing a crush on someone. It's cute, even if she is as violent as you are."

She arched a brow. _Maybe he does take after you in some ways, _she observed. She took another drink, but did not pour herself anymore. _Namikaze Minato, eh? Let's hope your luck in your choice of girls is better than your sensei's._

* * *

**A/N: So I've been doing a lot of math and realized that it wouldn't make any sense if I had Tsunade leave right after Dan died - Dan died in the Second Shinobi War, but Tsunade definitely had to have left after Shizune became a chuunin, which was when she was 13. Shizune was 27-28 or so during the first part of Naruto so...**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. When Leaves Set

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: When Leaves Set**

"Kushina, I'm coming in," Minato called early in the morning the next day, before sliding the door open and stepping into the room. The red head peered blearily at him from under the covers. Evidently he had woken her up.

"You do realize this isn't your house, right?" she said slowly.

He shrugged. "I said I'd be here in the morning. The housekeeper from yesterday let me in." He grinned. "She likes me."

Kushina's brow furrowed. "Which one?"

"Uh, graying brown hair, gray eyes, a scar shaped like an X on her left hand..."

Her eyes widened. Hisoka-baa-chan? She didn't like _anybody_.

_Great, my household is turning against me._

"If my mother catches you –" she started to threaten.

"Passed her in the hall. Acted like she didn't even know I was there, which we both know she did, despite my henge (1)."

_My family, too, apparently_.

"How would you know?" she retorted anyway.

Minato's grin stretched wider. "Met her yesterday. Don't worry, she technically, though half-heartedly, told me to go home."

Kushina groaned and pulled the covers back over her head. "Maybe you should listen to her and _go home_, Namikaze," she said through the fabric. "I keep telling you – leave me alone 'ttebane."

She could practically hear him frown. "Not unless you tell me you hate me, or at least what's going on."

The lump under the covers stayed silent.

"Then you might as well eat the dango (2) I brought."

Kushina heard a rustling, and peaked from under the blankets to see the blonde boy dangling a plastic bag enticingly in front of her. Her stomach growled traitorously. She sighed and flipped the covers off of her, reaching for the bag.

"You must think I'm a pig to be constantly bribing me with food," she muttered as she lifted out the container.

He ignored her. Lips pulled down in a scowl, he said, "How much sleep did you get?"

Kushina flushed slightly. She must look like a mess, having never left the room yesterday. Not to mention her sleep last night was plagued with nightmares of fire, destruction, and monsters with red hair. "I slept enough," she said shortly.

"No you didn't," Minato insisted, "You have bags under your eyes."

"Way to make a girl feel pretty," she mumbled.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"No, that's exactly what you _should_ mean," she snapped, "I'm not like the other girls who hang off you, Namikaze. I'm not pretty or girly, I don't know how to flirt, or sew, or embroider, or whatever. I'm violent, rude, crass, and – and basically a _brute_. You shouldn't be around me." _I might hurt you._

His frown deepened. "Not a single word of that was true. Well, maybe you don't know how to sew or embroider - I wouldn't really know. But I think you are just as pretty as any other girl, and you are definitely not a _brute_. But you're right – you're not like others. You're Kushina. You're a clever, skilled, loyal kunoichi that isn't afraid to whack me on the head and doesn't put silly flowers in her hair." _Huh?_

Regardless, Kushina flushed and turned away, unused to any sort of compliments.

Cautiously, Minato kneeled in front of her and said gently, "You know I never agreed with those kids that tried to bully you back at the Academy, right?"

She stiffened.

"Even when I didn't know you, I never thought you looked like a tomato or anything like that," he elaborated, "And I've told you, I like your red hair." She still refused to look at him, and he sighed. "I've got to go to a training session with my team. I'll see you later, Kushina. Make sure you eat all the dango." With that, he silently slipped out of the room.

"What are you, my mother?" Kushina muttered after him, before slowly pulling one of the sweet rice balls off the stick. "Stupid Minato." Tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes. _Why do you always seem to know what to say? Why are you making this harder than it already is? I'm not worth your time. _

As she ate silently in the middle of the dim room, loneliness crept over her, suffocating and devastating.

_I'm a monster_.

* * *

"You brats are _late!_" a fearsome woman roared when Kahoko, Borome, and Minato arrived at the training grounds.

His teammates gaped at her, wide-eyed, as Minato simply observed her with a look of growing comprehension on his face. He internally sighed. _A little warning would have been nice, sensei._

"E-excuse me, Tsunade-sama, but may I ask why you are here? Where's Jiraiya-sensei?" Kahoko bravely asked.

"Your sensei is out on a mission, and foolishly asked me to train you three while he's away. Now, I'll say it again – _you are late._" she demanded shortly.

"B-but we were only late by five minutes!" Borome protested.

The kunoichi arched a brow. "_Only_ five minutes, you say? We're shinobi. Anything can happen in five minutes. Whole armies could be killed in five minutes."

The boy's eyes grew even wider. "Th-that's ridiculous!" he stuttered, before quailing under the sannin's glare.

"W-we'll be five minutes early next time, Tsunade-sama," Kahoko tried to placate.

"That's no good either!" she shouted, "Shinobi are _on time_. Never early. Never late. Either could get you killed, or worse, compromise the mission."

The two seemed to have nothing to say to that, so the medic switched targets. "You," she snapped at Minato, causing his teammates to take a small step away from him, "You're awfully quiet. Left your spine in bed?"

Minato met her gaze head on. "No, Tsunade-hime. Jiraiya-sensei merely informed me that it's best to let you 'get it out of your system' when you work yourself up like this. He says he ends up with half as many broken bones than usual when he does."

Borome and Kahoko gaped at him, before fearfully turning to watch the woman's reaction. They were too late, however, to see how the corner of Tsunade's lip twitched.

"Alright, boy. For your cheek, you get an extra training session from me after this," she told him threateningly. Kahoko and Borome threw him sympathetic looks. Minato knew better though – he was supposed to have a one-on-one session with Jiraiya today anyway. The sage probably also asked Tsunade to fill in for that too.

"Hai (3), Tsuande-sama."

"Now what are you kids waiting for? Hurry up and get to the lake!"

The genin wasted no time following her command. Once they reached the edge of the water, they looked back questioningly at her. She merely stalked up behind them and shoved Borome forward. "H-hey!" he protested as he stumbled onto the surface of the water.

Tsunade ignored him. "Good, seems he's already taught you water-walking." She nodded at the remaining two. "Go on. You too."

Minato and Kahoko quickly joined their teammate on the water.

"To the middle," their substitute sensei ordered. They complied. As soon as they reached the center, however, the sannin made a fist and released an enormous punch on to the surface of the lake, sending a massive wave toward them. It disrupted the genin's chakra control, sending the three plunging into the lake as the wave crashed over them. Minato was the first to surface, then the other two.

"What was that for?!" Kahoko exclaimed as she tread water.

"You think all water battles happen on a nice, calm lake like this? Or even a smooth river?" Tsunade calmly explained to them, "This is the next step in chakra control – holding yourself up even in turbulent conditions. Master this, and you'll be able to battle on virtually any surface. Now get up!"

They did as they were told, climbing onto the surface of the water, and as soon as their weight shifted unsteadily to their feet, the fearsome kunoichi unleashed another tremendous wave on them. It sent Borome and Kahoko plunging, but Minato managed to keep himself above water, though he did sink a little.

"Oh ho," she arched a brow, "Maybe you actually are the prodigy everyone keeps talking about." Then she shot forward and gave Minato a hard, open-palmed shove, sending him flying across the lake before he dropped into the pool. "Or maybe not." Standing calmly over the water, she rested her hands on her hips. "Come on, you lot! Get up! Or I'll make you train through lunch!"

Minato let himself calmly float back to the surface on his back. _Yes, Jiraiya-sensei. A little warning would have been very nice. At least then I would have gotten some dango for myself, too._

* * *

The two blondes stood across from each other, gaze calculating. The boy's hair and clothes were still a little damp, but otherwise he looked outwardly none worse for wear. But if one looked very, very closely, one could see that he was at least a little tired. His breathing was slightly faster than normal, and the tiniest drop of sweat rand down his jaw. The woman, however, looked as fresh as daisy, and ready to unleash more torture.

"Alright, kid. We're going to spar," Tsunade informed him. It was sometime in the afternoon, and as she had promised, she had kept them training for lunch. Only after all three of them could do some light sparring on the surface of turbulent water did she let Kahoko and Borome go, making Minato stay for his 'extra training'. "Just you and me, so I can see if Jiraiya was exaggerating. You'd better not hold back or you'll die."

Minato frowned, but nodded.

She held up her right index finger. "To make this a little more interesting, I'll limit myself to this one finger. No other appendages will be used. If you can land a single hit on me, or get me to use more than this finger, you win. Though I doubt that will happen – one finger will be more than enough. Anyway, sound good?"

Minato knew better than to rise up to her baiting. So he simply nodded again and sank into position.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. _Brat. _"Then begin!"

The boy disappeared.

Well, not really. When he glided behind her, Tsunade tilted her head at exactly the right moment, dodging his kick, before neatly jumping to avoid his other leg. Minato continued to aim precise, calculated blows, and although none of them landed, Tsunade couldn't help but be very slightly impressed.

_His taijutsu (4) style is very refined,_ she observed as she hopped lightly away from another punch, _ No unnecessary or fancy movements. He's trained himself so that he uses his natural speed to its full advantage. _Cerulean eyes pierced at her, sharp gaze never leaving her form even as she tapped his knee with her finger, unbalancing him and forcing him to retreat to compose himself. That only took a fraction of a second, however, and immediately he resumed his attacks.

She took another step back to avoid a kick to the face, and felt a small chakra spike from the ground.

Looking down, she had just enough time to note glowing spots in the dirt, before jumping high in the air to avoid the subsequent explosion. _He's trying to be clever, huh? _Tsunade smirked as she gracefully touched down and waited for the debris and dust to settle. When the now-desecrated meadow came back into view, though, the blond had actually disappeared from sight.

_Hm, alright little brat. Let's play some hide-and-seek. _Her eyes and senses roamed the clearing. She grudgingly had to hand it to the kid – he was good. She couldn't feel his chakra at all. She was no sensor, but it was still a feat – especially for an eleven year-old genin. However, she didn't need to sense him to figure out where he was.

Smirking, she bent forward and plunged her index finger into the untouched ground, created large chasms that fractured and branched until most of the land in front of her was uprooted and sunken in. Minato's intense blue stare was waiting for her when the chunks of earth fell away. "Nice try, kid," she called, "But you'll have to do better than that."

The boy hopped onto one of the broken pieces of earth and charged at her again, once more attempting to make his taijutsu work. _Maybe he isn't all Jiraiya says he is,_ Tsunade mused, _if he's being as stubborn as this. _

Just as she was losing her patience with his futile kicks and punches, though, he suddenly retreated to the edge of the clearing, forming a hand sign as he went. Tsunade narrowed her eyes. _What's he up t—._

Wires shot up from the ground, crisscrossing in every which way to utterly surround her from all sides. Each wire had multitudes of explosive tags hanging from them, and Tsunade could tell that the slightest movement on her part would set all of them off.

"Hm, you do realize, kid, that this is not nearly enough to kill me or even injure me?"

From some branch of a tree, Minato shrugged. "Of course I realize, but the objective you laid out for me was to either strike you or get you to use more than one finger. Any hand sign requires more than one finger."

Tsunade nodded in approval."I'll admit, you came up with good strategy. Getting a feel for my movements by engaging me with _taijutsu. _Distracting me with that explosion so that you could hide out underground and set up this little trap. Finally, using what you learned from our initial confrontation to drive me to the right position. However, you forget…"

With that she suddenly appeared right behind him, her nail to his throat. At her previous position in the clearing laid the harmless log.

"Not all ninja need hand signs."

Minato sighed, Tsunade smirked. "You lose, kid."

* * *

"Isn't there something inherently wrong about a fully grown adult mooching a meal off of an eleven year-old?" Minato wondered as they sat in Ichiraku's Ramen stand.

Tsunade flicked this cheek. "Don't be cheeky, brat. To the victor go the spoils." She went back to her ramen.

"Well, I guess that's alright then," he shrugged, before taking a bite of his own ramen.

Tsunade frowned. "You know, kid, you're far too nice."

"I was just resigning to your argument," he pointed out.

She ignored him. "Girls don't like pushovers, you know."

Minato smiled. "That's up to them, isn't it?"

The older woman narrowed her eyes. "Are you _really_ Jiraiya's student?"

Minato only laughed and popped a fishcake into his mouth. "Sensei's not _that_ bad."

Tsunade arched a brow, smirking. "Did he ever tell you about the one time he almost died?"

The boy gazed at her questioningly, his blue eyes innocently wide, a sharp contrast to the intensity and piercing quality Tsunade had seen as they had battled. "No, although I am getting the feeling this isn't simply a matter of a very difficult mission."

The female sannin scoffed. "Hmph, not at all. I caught him trying to peep on me while in the women's baths."

Understanding grew on the boy's face. "I see."

Tsunade gave him a dark look. "Would you like to know what I did to him?"

Minato felt a drop of sweat trickle down his hairline. "Er…no?" he said hesitantly.

She ignored him. "I broke both his arms, six of his ribs, and ruptured several internal organs. He was in the hospital for months."

There was a long, heavy pause.

Tsunade suddenly smacked a hand onto his head, making the boy hunch under the weight. "But _you_ would _never_ follow in your sensei's footsteps, right boy?"

"…Yes, ma'am." Minato had to resist the urge to inch away as he was hit with a sudden but important realization. _Females are scary…_Still, eventually a smile crept onto his face.

The kunoichi eyed him suspiciously, removing her hand. "Does anything about this seem funny to you?"

"No, no, it's just…it reminds me of someone I know."

Her brow arched. "Oh?"

Minato lifted the bowl to his lips to drink the rest of his broth. "Mmhm." Setting the bowl down once he was done, he stood up. "Teuchi-san, is that other order ready?"

"Here you go, son," the man plopped the carry-out bag on the counter. "You tell her I said hello, and that we miss seeing her around."

"It's only been a couple days," the boy pointed out.

The ramen chef gave a throaty chortle, "Exactly."

Minato laughed, taking the bag. "Thanks, Teuchi-san."

"No problem, son. You're a good kid."

Minato ducked his head, embarrassed. "Thanks again. I'll just get going, now. I'll see you tomorrow, Tsunade-sama," he addressed the woman who had been watching the exchange with a sharp eye.

"Don't be late, brat."

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said, before departing.

"And don't call me 'ma'am'," she muttered, before turning to the ramen chef. "What was that about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Teuchi grinned as he wiped a recently washed bowl. "Oh, he's bringing some ramen to Kushina-chan. Apparently she hasn't been feeling well, lately."

"Kushina?"

"Uzumaki Kushina. She's from Whirlpool, but has been a regular here since we opened. She calls herself a tomboy, and apparently used to beat up all the bullies back at the Academy. She's a softie at heart, though." His grin turned mischievous. "Especially when she's around Minato-kun, though she'll never admit it."

_Hmm_… She must be the girl Jiraiya had talked about briefly. An Uzumaki, huh? _He could do worse. At least it sounds like she has guts_.

_Speaking of, I should probably visit baa-chan soon…_

* * *

"Nothing? You brought me back _nothing_?!" the Sandaime Tsuchikage raged, slamming his hands on his desk as he hovered over the floor.

The ninja in front of him kneeled, quivering. "F-forgive me, Sandaime-sama. I-I don't remember anything. I don't even remember going to Konoha at all."

"N-nor I," echoed his teammates.

"Do you know what that means?" Oonoki growled. He didn't wait for an answer. "It means you were _caught! _You were taken to Konoha's T&I department, wrung for every bit of information you had, had your memories wiped, and then had your useless behinds left on my doorstep! Konoha's _laughing_ at me!"

The squad sank lower to the floor. "F-forgive us, Tsuchikage-sama…"

Oonoki plopped sharply onto his chair. "Leave me. You three are suspended from active duty until further notice. I will also rethink your recent promotions."

"H-hai, Tsuchikage-sama." They fled.

Oonoki suppressed a sigh, and closed his eyes in thought. _Idiots. And people wonder why I haven't chosen a successor yet?_ Still, the three had come back basically unscathed. Their reports had only stopped three days ago. That was not enough time to recover from any serious injury, which meant they hadn't been much of a challenge for whoever had apprehended them.

_I should have sent someone more skilled_.

But this was only supposed to be a reconnaissance mission. They were _not_ supposed to engage the enemy. Just observe the genin teams. Even before their failure, though, they hadn't provided any useful information. They had been stupid enough to start with the fresh genin teams. It wasn't until Oonoki had pointed out to them in a…_strongly_-worded missive that fresh genin teams would _not_ be promoted to chuunin anytime soon did they start looking at other squads. The Tsuchikage still didn't understand, though, how they had been detected and captured so easily. Had they been taken by surprise? That made no sense – they were _supposed_ to be watching _them_.

Oonoki grimaced. They must have been stupid enough to pick the squad with Jiraiya or Hatake Sakumo as the sensei. Yes that was it.

At least _one_ piece of information _had_ been interesting.

"An Uzumaki in Konoha. I can think of only a few reasons why she'd be there," Oonoki mused, fingers steepled. "Not to mention why Kumo would want her. Now, what to do…"

And so, the Sandaime Tsuchikage plotted, never noticing the small amphibian that hopped off the windowsill.

* * *

"Kushina!" a voice called through her room door.

The girl growled from her nest of covers. "Go _away_ Namikaze!"

The screen slid open. "Now, is that anyway to speak to your mother?"

Kushina's back straightened. "Kaa-chan?" She turned her head away. "I'd like to be left alone," she mumbled.

"And I've left you alone, all of yesterday and for the better part of today. Now, though, it's time you come with me." Yuuhiko walk into the room and threw open the shutters, letting fresh air in.

Her daughter curled in her knees. "I don't want to."

"I'm not giving you an option," she said sternly. She knelt gently in front of her and brushed the lank, red strands away from her face. "Little one, I can't even imagine what you are going through right now, but I need you to trust me." Yuuhiko's heart clenched at seeing the somber look in her daughter's normally lively eyes. "Please? For your kaa-chan."

Slowly, Kushina nodded, and stood. Her legs shook, and when she teetered, Yuuhiko gently steadied her.

"Hisoka-san!" Yuuhiko called.

The housekeeper stepped in, head bowed. "Yes, Yuuhiko-sama?"

"Please take Kushina to the baths. I will be by in fifteen minutes to pick her up."

"Understood." The woman gently led Kushina away, and Yuuhiko watched as she left, observing the slump in the child's shoulders and the defeated aura around her.

_I hope this works…_

* * *

If Kushina was expecting anything when her mother told her she was taking her somewhere, it definitely wasn't this.

"Come here, child." The elderly lady sat on the edge of her large bed, beckoning to her. Her hair was a dull red that had probably been as vivid as hers in her youth, with parts of it tied into two buns on either side of her head. Wrinkles lined a kind face and a violet diamond marked her forehead.

_Uzumaki Mito…_

Kushina walked slowly to her, and Mito immediately took her hand in both of hers. There was a warm, soft, reassuring air about her, like a real grandmother. Kushina immediately felt herself relaxing the presence of the current Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and her walls began to fall.

"I know, child. I know what you must be thinking, feeling. I _know_." Her frail fingers stroked hand. "But it won't do to push everyone you care about away."

Kushina felt tears that she had though had long dried up begin to form in the corners of her eyes. Her lungs began heaving, and she whimpered. "I d-don't – I don't _understand_. Why me?"

The retired kunoichi regarded her somberly. "It's true, Kushina-chan, that you were chosen because of your special chakra. But that's not all." She stroke the hair that framed the girl's face. "Tell me, child, what do you think it means to be an Uzumaki?"

She sniffed. "S-seals…longevity…r-red hair…"

Mito chuckled. "Yes, all true, but you are missing the most important part. We are a strong clan, yes, with considerable skill in sealing. But we have no kekkei genkai (5). Other clans may grow to protect their clan secrets. We grow to protect our precious people."

The girl regarded her with wide eyes.

"It is for the sake of those we love that we train so hard. Develop new seals. It was for the sake of someone I loved that I sealed the Kyuubi into me." She placed a hand on her belly. "Now, do you have someone? For whom you'd be willing to sacrifice your life in order to protect?"

Kushina nodded. "K-kaa-chan."

Mito shook her head. "That won't do. It is the parent's duty to protect the child. Your mother would die before she let you die for her."

Kushina bit her lip. Even if that were true, she didn't like it.

"Is there someone else? Someone just as precious?"

_You're hair is beautiful, so I noticed right away_.

The smallest blush rose in the girl's cheek, making Mito chuckle. "Yes, there is," she answered for her. "That's why it has to be you, Kushina-chan. The Kyuubi is created from hate. Only someone who loves could ever keep it at bay. The most important thing we Uzumaki do, and your mother believes you do, is love. Do you understand?"

The girl blinked back her tears, and nodded.

"Come, child." Mito gently tugged on her hand, and Kushina obligingly knelt onto the floor, placing her head in the elder woman's lap. Stroking her hair, Mito continued. "But you know, child, there is one more thing."

She looked up at her questioningly.

"We are the vessels of the Kyuubi, but only that. Vessels. We are _not_ the Kyuubi itself," Mito explained, "And before we fill the vessels with a tailed beast, we must fill them with love. That must come first. Fill yourself with love, child, and then you will live a life of happiness, jinchuuriki or not."

"Fill myself…with love?"

Mito nodded. "That's right. Meaning you can't push your precious people away. Forge stronger bonds. Believe in the ones that care about you. Love and be loved."

Kushina closed her eyes, and rested her head against Mito's lap again, subjecting herself to the woman's comforting touch. _Love and be loved…Protect…_

_I _do_ have people I want to protect. And who can protect them from the Kyuubi better than I can? _

_To protect, you have to be strong,_ a voice inside her pointed out.

_And I am. I will be. I will be strong. I will protect. _

A face with cerulean eyes and shocking yellow hair grinned at her.

_I will love._

* * *

(1) Henge = Tranformation jutsu

(2) Dango: A sweet, rice ball-type thing on a stick. Anko was seen eating them constantly.

(3) Hai: A very formal way of saying "Yes" in Japanese. Think military "Sir, yes sir!"

(4) Taijutsu: Physical technique. Basically, martial arts as we think of it.

(5) Kekkei genkai: blood line trait

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Finals time. Yikes. **


	5. When Leaves Gather

**Disclaimer: I am not Kishimoto-sensei, and thus do not own. No matter how annoyed I get as the manga continues**

* * *

**Chapter 5: When Leaves Gather**

Kushina walked sedately back to her room, feeling more at peace than she had in what felt like ages. Things were sharp again, clear, and she felt a new purpose to her steps. A very important purpose.

Get money from her room for Ichiraku's ramen.

When she got there, though, she paused and blinked. A white carry-out bag sat in front of her door, and her sensitive nose could pick out the distinct smell of her favorite food wafting from it. Kushina smiled softly. _Damn sap._

An idea struck her, and her smile morphed into a grin as she grabbed the bag and headed out.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

Minato looked up in surprise. He didn't really get visitors, especially not this late. Few even knew where he lived. Though there was something familiar about that chakra signature…

His door opened to reveal fiery red hair, a wide grin, and two carry-out bags of ramen.

"Kushina?" Minato gaped in disbelief. The last time he'd seen her she was a ball under her covers. When he had stopped by after training today to give her the ramen, she hadn't been in her room, and Hisoka-baa-san had told him that she had gone to see someone important. Now, here she was outside his door, looking as lively as ever, her flaming hair bright even in the dark of night, as if the past two days had never even happened.

"Are you going to invite me in? Or leave a girl standing out here in the cold?" she asked, making him immediately stand aside so that she could step through the doorway.

"How did you know where I live?" Minato wondered as he shut the door behind him.

"My mom told me," she responded while slipping off her shoes.

"…And how did your mom know where I live?"

Kushina's expression turned contemplative. "…Huh. You know? I have no idea."

Minato tried to not let that disturb him too much.

"Anyway, where's your kitchen? I need to microwave this." She raised one of the carry out bags, presumably the one he left by her door some time ago. He led her to the kitchen as she scoped out his place unabashedly. "Nice place. You live here by yourself? How can you afford it?"

"Thanks. My parents left me a little money. Plus the old land lady really likes me, so she doesn't mind if I'm occasionally late in payment if it's been a dry month mission-wise."

Kushina snorted. "Right. You're an old lady charmer. Really, Namikaze, does anyone _not _love you?" As soon as the words left her mouth, though, she clicked her jaw shut, eyes wide.

Minato, thankfully, didn't register her slip. He only shrugged and said, "And my team has been taking more C- than D- rank missions lately, so that's been helping."

"Ah, right, the prodigal Team 4, aka Team Jiraiya. What are your teammates like?" she wondered as she busied herself with preparing her meal. She popped her bowl into his microwave.

"They're pretty good," Minato shrugged. "Although they can be a little…eccentric sometimes."

She leaned against his countertop. "We're kids, Namikaze. That's normal. You need to lighten up some. You're too mature for your own good. Just because we're ninja doesn't mean we can't act like kids sometimes 'ttebane."

"I act like a kid."

Kushina snorted and flicked his ear.

"Ow," Minato pouted.

"Wuss." The microwave beeped, and Kushina took out her bowl before making herself comfortable at his kitchen table. Minato joined her, taking the lid off his own container.

"So…are you alright now?"

"Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" She slurped her noodles loudly.

_Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you holed yourself up in your room for an entire day?_

"…Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Nope," Kushina said through a mouthful.

"Why?"

The red head rolled her eyes. "Just because everyone calls you a genius doesn't mean you have to know everything dattebane."

"Then why are you here?"

"Do you want me to take the ramen back? Because I will," she threatened.

Minato hurriedly stuffed in a mouthful of noodles. He had already eaten dinner, and he wasn't as big a ramen-fanatic as Kushina was, but he didn't want her to take the food back and leave.

"So, I was thinking," Kushina mused, "We're probably overcomplicating the seal a bit. We're trying to connect two points in space into one point in time, so really the seal shou-"

Minato picked his jaw off the ground. "Wait, so, you want to work together on my jutsu again?"

Kushina gave him a look. "Duh. Didn't I give you my word like a month ago? Where'd you leave your brain?"

The blond spluttered. "B-but, didn't you say you didn't want to work on it anymore?"

"I said no such thing." Kushina took a sip from her broth. "Now, as I was saying—"

"Yes you did!" he accused.

She shot him a glare. "Do you _not_ want my help?"

"N-no! I just– "

"So you just don't like me."

"No! That's not what I–"

"So you think I'm stupid."

"_No!_ I'm just confused because you – and I – and your mom – and the housekeeper said – and…"

"Namikaze?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He obeyed. The kitchen was silent for a minute, the two children looking at each other carefully, before the boy broke into face-eating grin, the kind that made Kushina want to whack him on the head with her chopsticks, which is exactly what she did. "Wise up, blondie! I'm trying to talk seals here 'ttebane."

Minato only rubbed his sore head and laughed. _Welcome back, Kushina_.

* * *

Tsunade examined the scuffed up but still intact boulder and scoffed. "Pathetic. Try again."

Her student made no complaint at her insult and only clenched his hand to strike the stone again. This time, the boulder crumbled a bit, cutting into his knuckles. He looked to his teacher for judgment.

The kunoichi huffed. "Still no good. Come on, are you going to let a rock beat you like some kind of wuss?" Tsunade suppressed a scowl as she observed the still-smiling boy. What was _with_ this kid today? He should be exhausted – she had had him training relentlessly all afternoon. She'd decided to work with him on his physical strength, since she had noticed that although his blows struck fast, they didn't strike particularly hard. His speed would be enough in most cases, but only most cases. So as soon as his teammates had left, she had shoved a bunch of training weights at him and immediately had him doing pushups, sit-ups, rock climbing, boulder-moving and whatever other crazy exercise she could think of. But no matter how tough she made the training, no matter how hard she saw his muscles twitch and shudder with pain, that stupid grin never left his face. In fact, did it just grow wider at the word "wuss"?

Tsunade sighed. "Try again. In fact, don't stop until _every bit_ of this boulder is in smithereens across the grass." With that, she stalked off, shaking her head. _Kids_.

Minato watched her go, bemused. He knew that was acting a little strange, but he couldn't help it. He was simply in a good mood, regardless of how much his body was screaming at him in pain. Well, actually, now that he was thinking about it, the pain _was_ pretty bad. He should probably try to do the task set for him soon, before he collapsed.

Minato scrutinized the stone in front of him. His last strike had barely dented it, but that blow had literally been all he could physically muster.

Physically.

Minato had heard of the Great Slug Queen's reputation. Phenomenal, genius medical ninja with monstrous, fearsome strength. He had seen her with his own eyes reduce earth to rubble with a single finger. Of course she couldn't have done it with _just_ her finger. She had to have used chakra. The only question was how.

Minato laid a hand on the boulder and sent a wave of chakra through his arm to the tips of his fingers, pooling it at the pads until they could hold no more, and _gripped_.

Cerulean eyes narrowed as the rock gave way.

Tsunade watched the blond boy from the edge of the clearing, her lips tilted into a smirk. So he was starting to figure it out.

"Is blondie staring at a rock?" a young, skeptical voice sounded from next to her. The medical ninja looked down to find a girl about Minato's age with long, flaming red hair.

"Training ground's booked, kid. Go find another one."

The girl crossed her arms. "I'm not here to train, I'm here for Namikaze." She jerked a thumb toward the boy who took step back and sunk into position. "I've got plans for him."

"Oh?" Tsunade raised a brow. "Aren't you kids a little young for that sort of stuff?"

The girl merely looked at her, baffled. "Huh?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Never mind." She looked back at the clearing to catch Minato make another futile strike at the boulder before rubbing his hand in discomfort. Turning her gaze back to the young kunoichi, she asked, "You wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki Kushina, would you?"

She crossed her arms and looked at Tsunade suspiciously. "What's it to you?"

The older woman huffed a short laugh, going back to watch the boy punch uselessly at the stone. "Well, either way you're going to have to wait a while. He's training, and he won't be done until he's broken that boulder into little bits and pieces with his bare hands. And that isn't going to happen any time soo—"

_Crack!_

The boulder groaned as Minato's fist dug into it, making hundreds of cracks splintering along its surface, before it broke apart, sending bits of rock all over the grass.

Surprise was written across both kunoichi's faces, though for different reasons.

_Already?_ Tsunade's eyebrows were high on her forehead._ Even though he figured out that he needed chakra, it still shouldn't have taken him such a short time to actually _get_ it. His chakra control must be amazing._

Kushina, on the other hand, had her mouth wide open. "Holy crap! That was awesome!"

Minato flushed slightly at the praise and rubbed the back of neck sheepishly. "Thanks."

The red head ignored him and turned instead to the blonde woman. "Can you teach _me_ how to do that?"

Tsunade looked at her in surprise, before turning to gauge Minato's reaction. To her immense amusement, the boy at first looked slightly disappointed at losing the girl's attention. But then, his expression turned curiously nervous, with maybe even a hint of…fear?

The kunoichi looked back at the pleading girl, wondering exactly what would happen if she _did_ teach this girl to have her monstrous strength.

* * *

"You're a mess. And absolutely useless like this," Kushina complained as she slowly took another step, fighting the extra weight Minato put on her side. His arm was slung across her shoulders and over her neck, his feet barely able to walk after the vigorous training he was forced through that day. "I had plans, you know."

"Sorry," the blond said as sheepishly as he could through his exhaustion. His eyes shifted over to look at her curiously. "What were they?"

The girl sniffed. "You'll just have to find out tomorrow."

Minato grinned contentedly, his eyes absently watching the bustling street before them. Kushina observed him, frowning, before suddenly jerking his torso forcefully with the arm wrapped around his waist, jostling his abused ribs and making him wince. "You really got to work on that," she told him.

"Work on what?" he asked, confused.

"That spaced out look," she said, rolling her eyes, "It annoys people. Namely me."

The corner of his lips turned down. "I don't mean to look spaced out."

"Well you do. Makes you seem like a flake, and girly."

He pouted. "Do you really think so?"

She gave him a look. "Well yeah. I mean that's exactly what I thought you were the entire time we were in the Academy."

His pout deepened, his eyes turned back to the dirt street, and he fell into a silent melancholy. It was kind of hilarious, actually. Kushina watched him for a long moment as they continued to trek toward the direction of his apartment, her mind warring with herself as she chewed on her thoughts. Eventually, though, his kicked puppy look forced her to open her mouth and speak.

"But…I don't think so anymore."

He looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

Her own gaze was averted, and if one looked really, _really_ carefully (which, thankfully, Minato's exhaustion prevented him from doing) a pink tinge had spread across her cheeks. "I don't think you're flaky, or girly, anymore."

He slowly broke into a grin. "Really?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself, blondie."

Minato laughed. "Alright. But what _do_ you think of me, then?"

Her indigo eyes grew wide. "Uh – "

She was saved, thankfully, from responding when a high voice called, "_Minato-kun!_ What _happened_ to you?!"

Kushina watched as a young girl with black hair pulled up into a sort-of bun and a flower tucked behind the ear came running toward them, eyes intent on her scuffed up companion, who blinked. "Oh, hi, Kahoko-san."

The girl named Kahoko came to a halt just in front of them, and Minato actually leaned back a little, making Kushina stare. _Who's this?_ She looked kind of familiar…

As if he had heard her silent question, he introduced, "Kushina, this is my teammate, Nazono Kahoko. Kahoko-san, this is Uzumaki Kushina."

Oh, that's right. She was one of his teammates. Kushina could somewhat recall seeing her when she would go to pick Minato up from his team practices with Jiraiya. "Er, nice to meet you, Kahoko-san."

The raven haired girl ignored her. "Seriously, what happened, Minato-kun!? You look _awful_." Kushina snickered, while the aforementioned blond boy winced.

"Just a hard day of training, Kahoko-san," he replied.

Kahoko frowned in confusion. "But practice ended hours ago."

Kushina responded for him. "He had an extra session with Tsunade-sama today/"

Kahoko's expression turned into one of sympathy. "Oh, she's still punishing you, is she?" The question made Kushina's brow furrow in confusion, and she opened her mouth to speak. Minato, however, suddenly grabbed a tuft of her hair with the hand that rested by her neck and gave it a solid _yank_, making her shut up and glower at him. He ignored her, giving a one shoulder noncommittal shrug to his teammate, who was watching the interaction with slightly narrowed eyes. Her attention shifted, and she finally turned to look at Kushina's face, the unwelcome in her gaze making the red head flinch.

"I can take it from here," she told her, arms reaching forward to take her load.

Kushina's eyes narrowed, her short fuse already shorter from the girl's attitude toward her. "We're doing just fine, thanks," she stated, her grip tightening on Minato. She noticed the blond bite back a wince, however, and immediately loosened her arm again. "Let's go, Namikaze." She took a step forward, but was blocked.

Kahoko's eyes narrowed further. "Where are you taking him? He should go to the hospital."

"He doesn't need one."

Minato's eyes shifted uncomfortably at the tension growing between the two females. "Uh, I'll be fine Kahoko-san. Just need some rest."

"And how would you know? Are _you_ a medic-nin?" the brunette countered, hands on hips.

"No," Kushina responded, scoffing. "But Tsunade-sama is. She healed the worst of the injuries, and told me to take him home for some sleep, which is where we're going, not that it's any of your business."

"Of course it's my business! He's my teammate!"

"He's my comrade, too. Now could you get out of the way?"

"No. With your manhandling, you'll just hurt him more. Give him here, I can take him home."

Kushina saw red. "_Manhandling?_" she repeated, her body tensing. Conscious, however, of the beat up body against her, she forced herself to take a breath. "Look here, you can either move or I'll make you."

Kahoko placed her hands on her hips and cocked them. "Oh, really?"

At this point, Minato was visibly nervous, shifting from foot to foot, but Kushina only ignored him and grinned dangerously at his teammate.

"Really. And the first thing I'll go for is that stupid flower in your hair."

Kahoko opened her mouth to give an angry retort when they were interrupted. "Yo! Nazono, Namikaze, what's going on?" A boy with ashy hair that curled close to his head appeared, a wide grin on his face that quickly faltered when he saw the blond boy. "Uh, Minato you look like shit."

Minato gave him a weak smile, obviously grateful for the distraction. "Thanks, Borome. Kushina, this is Kaijishi Borome, my other teammate."

Borome grinned easily at the girl, who immediately took a liking to him. "Nice to meet you, Kushina."

"Likewise, Borome," she grinned back, her mood suddenly taking a turn for the better.

"What are you doing here, Borome?" Kahoko demanded sharply, making him blink in surprise.

"What's got your flower in a twist, Nazono?"

The girl's teeth visibly clenched while Kushina muffled a snicker. "Nothing."

Borome scratched his cheek, looking between the three genin with obvious confusion. "Uh…sure doesn't seem like it." His face suddenly became very horrified. "It isn't…you're not…_PMSing_ are you?" he staged whispered. Kahoko, aghast, turned a brilliant red, while Kushina burst into hysterics, barely able to keep her grip on the blond, who had gone back to looking _extremely _uncomfortable.

"_No_, you idiot!" she slammed a fist against her teammate's cheek, sending him flying back into the dirt.

"Ow, woman! What was that for!" he exclaimed, nursing his bruised cheek as he picked himself off the ground.

"For being inappropriate! You _never_ ask a lady something like that!"

"I see no ladies around here!" he retorted, before suddenly grinning gallantly, "Other than you, of course, Kushina-chan." The aforementioned red head snorted at his silliness as the other girl grew angrier. Minato's slight narrowing of the eyes went unnoticed.

"_Borome…_" Kahoko growled, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms as her fists tightened.

The boy quickly ducked around to stand next to his other, safer (in a sense) teammate. "So, where are you all heading?" he asked.

"I'm taking this one to get some bed rest at home," Kushina told him, carefully gesturing to Minato without jostling him too much. The sunny haired boy gave a weak grin to supplement her response, and a growing look of comprehension grew on Borome's face.

"And _I _was saying that _we_ should be the ones to take him home. We _are_ his teammates." Kahoko's hands were on her hips, her posture firm and superior, making Kushina scowl at her. Before she could respond, though, Borome did for her.

"Uh Nazono?" he said slowly, giving her a questioning look, "Do you even know where Minato lives? Cuz I sure as hell don't."

The girl flushed again, but she snapped back, "No but he can tell us! It's not like she does either!"

"I do, too!" Kushina cried, making both of them turn to look at her, but she was already repositioning her grip on Minato so that she could drag him past them. "Now can you get out of the way? Namikaze looks like he's about to pass out."

"I'm fine…" Minato protested, though his weak voice wasn't convincing anyone.

"Quiet, blondie."

Borome quickly stood aside, pulling his enraged teammate back with him and letting the two sluggishly move past them. He quickly slapped a hand over Kahoko's mouth when she opened it to undoubtedly voice a loud objection. "You can't call yourself a lady if you can't keep _quiet_, Nazono. Sheesh. You yelling is not going to help Minato any, you know."

Kushina and Minato threw him a grateful look as they continued on their away. Borome responded with an easy grin before resuming distracting his female teammate so that the duo could make their getaway.

"I like him," Kushina told her companion when they had gotten a respectful distance away.

"Yeah, I could tell," Minato replied with a slightly strained smile. Kushina slated it to his exhaustion, though, and continued to muse over the team she had just met.

"Whats her face, Nazono? She could use an attitude readjustment, though, humph."

"Well, she might not be the easiest person to get along with, but she's good at heart, and pretty talented at ninjutsu," Minato defended mildly, making his red head friend scowl.

"Doesn't mean she can act like something's biting her in the ass all the time," she harrumphs, puffing out her cheeks. The blond only smiled indulgently at her, evidently too tired to argue much. Taking note of this, his companion fell silent and tried to pick up the pace.

The two genin trudged steadily through the village, listening to the gentle hustle and bustle of Konohagakure. Raised voices as people haggled over market prices. Laughter as children ran through the streets, weaving in and out of legs. Mischievous tones of old woman gossiping on corners. Deep throated chuckles of men enjoying themselves after a hard day's work. Kushina felt herself grow content. This _was_ a nice village. Lively. Fun, even. Uzushio had been much smaller than Konoha, and much more traditional and strict. Every hand mattered, so even children had chores and duties to fulfill around the village. The Academy entrance age was a year lower than it was in Konoha, in order to churn out more able bodied ninja earlier. Kushina had always thought, though, that their lack of manpower was mostly because, well, the manpower was exactly that. Made of men. Women were allowed to be educated, especially in the Uzumaki clan, and taught basic ninja skills, but were expected to stay out of combat, for the most part. That's why, honestly, Kushina had been a little relieved to leave Whirlpool. School hadn't been going well for her, because of her quick temper and general tomboyishness. The Academy here wasn't _that_ much better, in that respect, but at least she got to be an active ninja. People teased her about her hair, but at least no one thought she was strange for being so eager to throw punches. Well…too strange.

They had reached Minato's apartment with no other mishaps. Kushina got him through the door and helped him into bed. "Do you want anything to eat?" she asked, putting a water bottle on his nightstand. He took it gratefully, and chugged down a good volume of it.

"I think I'll just sleep for now," he told her, leaning back against his pillows. She nodded, and turned to leave and give him some peace and quiet. He grabbed her wrist before she could go though, making her freeze. Her eyes traveled down to the contact, before moving up to be trapped in an electrifying blue gaze.

"Thank you, Kushina, for helping me home," he said feelingly, "I'm sorry we couldn't hang out."

She fought furiously against the blush that was trying to make its way up her neck and to her cheeks. Averting her gaze, she gently broke her wrist free from his grasp. "Uh it was nothing," she told his covers. "Just get some rest. Don't need you flaking out on me tomorrow."

She chanced a glance back at his face only to see Minato give her that wide smile that seemed to light up the entire room. "Wouldn't dream of it. See you tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Tomorrow. Now sleep, blondie!" With that she practically ran out the door, leaving the boy to his bed, drifting off into blissful unconsciousness with a smile still on his face.

* * *

The Sandaime Tsuchikage of Iwagakure reread the contents of the scroll that he had personally encrypted himself, making certain that not a stroke was out of place. Eyes roving the parchment, he checked every character, every symbol, every blot. Only when he was completely satisfied with the every inch of ink did he roll the scroll up and place a seal around it.

He handed it to the ninja in front of him. "You know what to do. And I don't think I need to say how crucial it is this falls into the proper hands, do I, Kintsuchi?"

The stocky, black haired man bowed as he took the scroll, his goatee brushing his collar. "Hai, Tsuchikage-sama." With that, he turned and exited the room, navigating the maze of hallways with purpose. He didn't stop when he reached the exterior of the building, shadowed by the tall rocky structures that composed the Village hidden in Stone. He made his way through the streets in the same manner, making his way out of the Village. At one corner, though, he paused, and his gaze suddenly swung over his shoulder, eyes fierce. He stared hard for a long moment, before eventually turning his head back forward. Instead of resuming his trek through the village, however, he sprang up to the roofs, bursting into a speedy route to the gates, creating a small dust cloud from where took off from the ground.

When the dust cleared, all that was left was bare ground interspersed with brown, earthy rocks. Eventually, though, one of the rocks twitched, and double lids slid back to reveal bulbous gold eyes with strange, horizontal pupils.

_Follow him._

* * *

**A/N: No, Kintsuchi is not a typo. **

**So...yeah. Manga happenings. Being ignored to an extent. I planned this story out way before Kishimoto decided to throw a whammy at me, so for now, we're going to say that the Niidaime did not invent Hiraishin. Sorry if you don't like this, but, well, too bad. **

**I also apologize for the wait. After finals, I started my internship for the summer which has been taking a lot of time. Not to mention I became a beta for another Naruto story - Chance for Prophecy  by Dorcyy. I highly recommend :)**

**Please drop a review! I love reading your comments!**


	6. When Leaves Rally

**Disclaimer: Do not own.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: When Leaves Rally**

It was dark. No, that wasn't right. It wasn't dark _per se_, but there was definitely no light.

_Well that's stupid. By definition darkness is the absence of light. _

Heavy footsteps seemed to mysteriously echo, despite the fact that there were no boundaries in this _emptiness-but-solidness_ to be seen. No end. No beginning. No forward no backward no up no down.

Wait. Over there…was that? Feet moved quickly to a vague spot. It wasn't necessarily _bright, _or even _not-dark_, but it was different…

A gasp. The sky suddenly opened, revealing a canvas that was definitely inky black, splashed with little points of brightness. Something roared, terribly and deafeningly, and in the next moment, a ball of _not-darkness-but-not-light-either_ tore through Earth, who moaned and cried until the orb crashed into a glittering pool, sending waves of cool mist into the ethereal sky.

The pool's contents began to trickle along the scar that the destructive sphere of _presence-yet-absence_ had made, attempting to heal its Mother Nature as much as it could. Eyes followed the path, unable to look away, even though they knew something horrible waited at its end.

The world was suddenly filled with moving, flickering red and massive, oppressive force that pushed all away from it.

But even that fell away to a sharp, cold disk with three tomoe that spun around its center.

* * *

Kushina yelped, shooting up in her futon. Sweat matted her hair and stuck her clothes to her skin. Her chest rose and fell sharply in an unsteady rhythm. Sheets wrinkled and scrunched under her hands' death grip. Her whole body shook, as if it was attempting to shake off the disturbing feeling of the mixture of irresistible nothingness and irrepressible force that remained from the dream – no, nightmare.

She forced her fingers to stiffly break their grasp on the poor linen, only to have her arms automatically wrap around herself, trying to contain the shivers. What _was_ that? Those red eyes…she'd never seen them before. Were they…were they the Kyuubi's eyes? Although that would make logical sense – they had sure _seemed_ demonic – her instinct was telling her no. In fact, those eyes were kind of familiar…but she couldn't place where she had seen them before.

There had been no face. Actually, she technically couldn't even be sure that they _were_ eyes. But deep down, she was certain, just as she was certain about the pure, unadulterated _hatred_ that emanated from the harsh red disks.

Slowly, her breathing calmed down, and the trembles faded. The night air that wafted in through her open window was soothingly cool again her flushed skin, and the chirping of the crickets and the rhythmic sounds from the shishi odoshi (1) outside lulled her heart into a more even beat. Still, Kushina knew without a doubt that she would not be able to go back to sleep that night. As soon as she regained control of her stiff muscles, she flung the covers back and hopped from her futon, shivering slightly as her bare feet touched the cold wood. Fumbling a little in the dark, she quietly dressed and grabbed her hitai-ate. Her steps were noiseless against the floor as she made her way to the entrance of her room and slid the screen back, revealing the picturesque gardens and comforting dark night sky to her hungry eyes. Slipping on her shoes, she took a step forward before leaping to the roof and quickly bounding away from the compound, tying her headband to her forehead as she went.

* * *

When Tsunade reached the training grounds to set up her little…exercise for the team that day, she was greeted by an unexpected sight. Chunks of earth ripped from the ground were lying haphazardly across the grass, the training posts were scratched and splintered almost past recognition, and a small girl lay in the middle of it all, fiery red hair splayed around her like a pillow. Tsunade checked the sun – it was barely dawn.

"Well, look who got an early start to the day. Rough night?" Tsunade remarked casually, arching a brow.

The young kunoichi barely even acknowledged the voice, turning her head minutely so that she could see the tall blonde from the corner of her eye. Her breath flew from her lungs in harsh pants, and sweat rolled along the edges of her face. "Oh, it's you."

Tsunade's second brow rose up to join its mate – that wasn't a greeting she was used to getting. "No need for such enthusiasm. Now what did the poor training ground do to you?"

The red head's nose wrinkled. "None of your business."

"It is when you were planning a field exercise in a now currently-unusable field."

Kushina's expression turned a little guilty. "Oh, sorry about that then. I just had some…excess energy this morning 'ttebane."

"Uh-huh." Tsunade bent to mildly examine an abused training post more closely. Deep gouges riddled the wood, and in some places, whole chunks were missing. However, the sole female sannin noticed that there were no kunai or shuriken lying around, and judging from the young ninja's current apparent state, Tsunade doubted she had had the energy to pick up after herself. Besides, genin that young normally couldn't put that much force behind a blade. "What did you use to make these?" she couldn't help but ask curiously. Wind justu could make the marks, but it was very unlikely for an eleven year old to have even started elemental training, let alone whip up a jutsu strong enough to do damage.

Kushina groaned as she slowly sat up so that she could see what the older woman was referring to. "Uhh weapons?"

"What weapons?"

The genin eyed her suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Come off of it, brat. I'm just curious."

Kushina pursed her lips, before struggling onto her feet to face the posts. She lifted an arm straight in front of her, palm out, her other hand stabilizing the elbow. Suddenly, a glowing, slightly ethereal chain, tipped with a deadly point, shot out from her open palm, whizzing by Tsunade's cheek to strike the log with explosive force, sending large splinters flying into the air.

Tsunade looked at her with surprise. "That wasn't a jutsu, was it?"

Apparently that had been the last of the younger girl's energy reserves, and she plopped back onto the grass to resume her cloud gazing. "Nope. Just my chakra."

The blonde let out a low whistle. "That's some chakra."

The girl on the ground shrugged. "Thanks?"

"It looks like you can't control it all that well, though," she remarked.

Kushina lifted her head to gaze sharply at her with narrowed eyes. "What makes you say that 'ttebane?" she snapped defensively.

"You were aiming for the post next to this one, weren't you?"

The girl grimaced, but said nothing.

"Well, I guess that's to be expected, since no one can really work with you on it," Tsunade continued, coming over to sit by the genin on the lush grass, leaning back on her arms to enjoy the early morning weather. She didn't know why she was sticking around. She wasn't a kid-person. Nawaki had been the only brat she had had any affection for. But although the girl tried to hide it, Kushina was obviously disturbed by something, and had come to the training grounds to try and put whatever had stressed her out of her mind. And Tsunade felt a sort of kinship with the tomboy. Well, maybe that was just because they were distant relatives.

"And how would you know that?" The genin was back to suspicion.

"My grandmother's an Uzumaki. I know the clan. Chakra chains are definitely not in their repertoire."

That shocked the young red head, making her lift herself up to her elbows to look at the older kunoichi better. "You're grandmother is an Uzumaki?" she repeated incredulously.

Tsunade nodded. "Uzumaki Mito."

Kushina's jaw dropped. "Mito-sama is your grandmother?!"

"Yep."

The red head gazed up at her with wide, disbelieving violet eyes, her brows so far up her forehead that Tsunade had to suppress an amused chuckle. Kushina noticed though, and quickly snapped out of it and looked away, lips pulled into an embarrassed scowl. She shifted her weight and sat up fully, bringing her knees to her chest to stare hard at the grass in front of her. A long moment of neutral silence passed between them, with one watching the clouds while the other picked at weeds with her fingers, before the younger of the two asked quietly, "What was she like?"

Tsunade turned her head back to look at her. "'Was?' She's still alive, you know."

"I know that!" Kushina retorted, before returning to her more demure posture, "I meant, what was she like, you know, when she was younger?"

The blonde arched a brow. "Why do you want to know?"

"I met her a couple of days ago, and she was really nice. Really grandmother-like. It just got me wondering about what she was like before she was a grandma," Kushina replied smoothly, but her eyes wouldn't meet Tsunade's, who knew there was more to it.

She decided to give her a break though. "Well, keep in mind that _I've_ only known her as a grandmother, too. But when I was little, she was still pretty spry, I guess. Kind of intimidating, actually."

"Intimidating?" the red head repeated.

Tsunade nodded, looking back up at the sky pensively. "Yeah. She had this air about her – very poised, very confident in her abilities. My younger brother," she ignored the pang that shot through her heart, "thought she was boring because she was always so put together, though he was a toddler at the time. Still, she was very different from my grandfather, who was a goofball and used to spoil us rotten." Tsunade chuckled at the nostalgic memories. "You could tell his antics really grated on her nerves sometimes."

"Your grandfather? The Shodai Hokage?...A _goofball?_" Kushina looked mildly aghast.

"Oh yes. An utter child, up to the day he died. He taught me, his first grandchild, how to gamble, you know." Tsunade watched with an amuse smirk as the girl's expression became utterly scandalized.

"Uh no offense, but then why the hell was Mito-sama with him?"

The Senju's smirk turned into a genuine smile. Her eyes turned soft and unfocused as she remembered when Mito had caught her and Hashirama with some money and cards. The woman had been furious, and little Tsunade had been quite shocked at the discovery that her elegant, poised grandmother possessed a temper that was reminiscent of a tsunami. But then Hashirama had stood, groveled, flattered, and acted altogether completely silly until Mito eventually forgave him with twitching lips. Then he had kissed her cheek, and Tsunade recalled being even _more_ shocked when her grandmother had actually _giggled_. "Because she loved him. And he adored her. They were quite the pair. Complete opposites, but they brought out the best in each other. The only time I ever saw my grandmother be anything other than proper was when she was with him."

Kushina watched Tsunade reminisce with wide, thoughtful eyes as she chewed her lip. Wrapping her arms around her legs, the red head rested her chin on her knees. "So…she was happy?"

The back of Tsunade's mind started to put pieces together, but for the time being, the sannin ignored it, focusing on the girl next to her. Grinning down at her, she replied, "I'd say so."

A small, but sincere smile finally stretched the girl's lips before she said, "Thanks for telling me, Tsunade-sama."

"You're welcome," the sannin replied simply.

A more comfortable silence washed over them as a playful breeze rustled through the grass, bringing with it the cheerful sound of birds just emerging from their nests with the rising sun. The day was going to be warm and sunny, and with such pleasant weather sweeping over the landscape, one could almost forget the destruction that riddled the training ground.

Almost.

Kushina chewed her lip before letting it go to say, "Uh…what are you going to do about that field exercise?"

Tsunade shrugged. "We'll do a different exercise, I guess. Or I'll make them clean this place up before training."

The pre-teen sunk her head down her shoulders in sheepishness, making Tsunade smirk as she said, "Don't feel guilty. If I do have them clean up, you're helping."

Kushina pouted. "What if I have team training, too dattebane?"

Tsunade called her bluff. "Too bad. That's your problem."

The red head huffed, lips turning down into some cross between a scowl and a pout. Tsunade watched her contemplatively, mouth quirked with amusement before finally coming to a decision that she had been tossing around in her head throughout their entire conversation. "Come back here tomorrow morning, same time. I might not be able to help with you chakra chains specifically, but I could definitely do something about your chakra control."

Kushina's gaze whipped up to her, eyes wide in surprise and hopeful excitement. "Really? Would you teach me to punch like Namikaze did yesterday 'ttebane?"

Tsunade snorted. "We'll see. Don't push your luck, kid." _Jiraiya, when you get back, I'm going to give you a good whack on the head for saddling me with these brats. Kids are supposed to be _your_ thing, not mine._

* * *

A loud, deep roar of laughter reverberated throughout the tavern as large man dressed in old-fashion garb lounged back in a cushioned booth, cheeks flushed pink, breath saturated with the smell of alcohol, and a pretty, giggling young woman under each arm.

"—and the next thing he knew," the man continued, slurring slightly, "he was in a room with three, gorgeous, practically naked women. Kid had crashed through the roof of a brothel!" The women gasped in exaggerated shock before breaking into harder giggles, while the man bellowed another boisterous laugh. One of the girls refilled his sake dish and he immediately drained it, sighing in contentment. "I swear, I didn't even know a person could turn that shade of red. And what's more, he didn't want to _stay_! Even though I offered to pay for him! Ungrateful brat."

"Aww," a girl cooed, "but you wouldn't leave us, would you?" She smoothed a hand over his broad chest. "We're having so much fun!" she shifted her weight to give him a better look at her generous cleavage, which the man seemed to eye appreciatively. Over her shoulder, a hooded figure stepped in to the building, out from the pouring rain.

"Why, what man in his right mind would want to leave _you_ m'dear?" he replied, grinning goofily. The cloaked figure pushed back his hood, revealing an ordinary face with dark hair, dark eyes, and an average looking nose. A completely forgettable face.

"Oh, you! Such a charmer," the other girl admonished, though the effect was ruined as she winked and poured him another refill of sake.

"But that's what makes me such excellent company, isn't it?" the man gave the woman's rear a light squeeze, making her squeal and lightly slap him on the shoulder. Behind her, the dark haired fellow approached the bar and ordered something. The bartender disappeared under the counter for a moment before reappearing with an empty glass and a dark bottle.

"Oh yes, the best we've had in weeks! You're stories are _amazing_," the girl on his right admired, leaning her cheek against an open palm. The bartender had poured the contents of the bottle into the glass, the dark umber liquid sloshing against the crystal. The man reached for it, and misjudged the distance, knocking the cup over and spilling its contents over the countertop. He seemed to apologize profusely, picking the glass up quickly to minimize the spill, and the bartender shook his head, waving his apology off, before reaching to take the cup from the man's hand.

"Only weeks? Not _ever_?" he pouted, his words slurring just a little more after his last shot of sake.

"Well," the girl on the left said mischievously, voice dipping low, "exquisite story-telling is all you've done, _so far_." She lean forward to rest her well-endowed chest on his, and his pout disappeared to turn into a sloppy smirk. The bartender grasped the practically empty glass and pulled it from the man's hand, whose arm moved forward just slightly with the motion, making his long, loose sleeve drop forward about a centimeter. The movement was used to skillfully cover the flash of white that disappeared up said sleeve, going unnoticed by everyone except the keenest eye. The glass was refilled, and the man drained the cup in one gulp.

"Oh ho? So then, ladies, shall we get out of here so that I can demonstrate some of my other _talents?_" The females giggled simultaneously, before smoothly standing and exiting the booth, then waiting for their companion to do the same. He smoothed his large hand over each of their waists, just as the man by the bar made a show of checking his watching, starting, and tossing some money onto the counter. As he made his hasty exit, though, he literally bumped into the two scantily clad women and their companion at the door, making the larger man stumble back and struggle to regain his alcohol-affected balance.

"Watch where you're going," the man snapped.

The girls glared at him as they steadied the taller male, who held up his hands apologetically. "Sorry man. Just enjoying the night," he said, words slow as if they fought to roll off his tongue.

The other man glared and otherwise ignored him, pulling his hood back up to step through the exit. After waiting a moment, seemingly befuddled by the man's off-putting behavior, the guy shrugged before ushering his two female friends through the door.

The night was just ending, the sun only barely peaking over the distant horizon and easily covered by the buildings that lined the mostly empty street. Folk slowly started to wake with the rising sun, taking their time getting ready and enjoying their morning coffee or tea. Some started to trickle out of their houses and open their stores or stands, preparing for another day of business.

No one paid any mind to the man dressed in an old-fashioned outfit cheerfully whistling down the street, his steps sure and graceful despite his large stature as he entered the only inn in town, completely alone.

* * *

"What _happened_?!" Kahoko had her eyes on the training field, mouth agape, as she surveyed the destruction that had apparently taken place between yesterday and today. Beside her, Borome and Minato were in similar states of surprise, though the blond hid it just a little better.

Her remark, though, made Kushina stop what she had been doing for the past half hour and look at the area around her. It _did _look bad. Worse than before actually. After Tsunade had offered to train her tomorrow morning, Kushina had wheedle and pleaded to start right away. The woman had tried to refuse, pointing out her exhaustion from her little vent session before, but the red head had insisted she felt fine – all she had needed was a little rest to catch her breath. She then successfully annoyed the sannin until she gave in, if only to shut her up and torture her a bit.

First she had told her to deplete her chakra supplies as much as she could, and that had been the cause of the added destruction that surrounded the young genin now. Kushina had basically shot out as many chakra chains as she could in all different directions, stretching them as long as she was able to. This continued for almost half an hour before Tsunade had stopped her, judging her to have low enough chakra to start the next stage. She had then given her a kunai, making Kushina look up at her with confusion.

"_I have my own kunai, thanks," the red head deadpanned, clearly perplexed._

"_I just sharpened that," Tsunade told her. She took the kunai back and brushed it lightly against a sleeve. The blade cut through the fabric like butter._

_The genin still wore a puzzled expression on her face. "Cool?"_

_Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You're going to balance that kunai, point down, on a finger without cutting yourself."_

_Kushina's eyes widened. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"_

_The older woman demonstrated for her, tossing the kunai lightly in the air before catching its point with her index finger. The blade stood straight up, not quivering in the slightest, even when the blond moved her hand to the side. Not a single drop of blood fell from her finger._

"_Most ninja only learn enough fine chakra control to attract objects to them. This is the basis of tree-climbing, which I'm sure you've learned," Tsunade explained. Kushina nodded in affirmative. "And water walking?" Another nod. "Good. For most shinobi, those skills are all they need. Some ninja work on specific aspects of chakra control. The Inuzuka clan is a good example – they work on channeling chakra to their noses to enhance their sense of smell. Usually, they get so good at it they can do it without thinking. Medical ninja are different. Medics have absolute control over their chakra in every way possible, for even the smallest slip could cost someone his life. I won't be training you to be a medical ninja – you have far too much chakra to even hope to achieve the level of fine tune control necessary to be one. But because _I_ am a medical ninja, I know many exercises that will help you, not just with chakra control, but even in combat too, if you get good enough."_

_Kushina's face began to light up in excitement, making the sannin's lip turn up in amusement before continuing, "The trick to this exercise is to use your chakra to _repel_, like with water walking." She brought her hand back in front of her, where the kunai still rested, perfectly vertical and still. "Bring your chakra to the spot you need it and imagine _pushing_ it through your skin to keep the point from contacting it. But, you have to find just the right amount, like with the tree-climbing exercise. Use too little, and the blade with pierce your chakra and cut you. Use too much, and you'll push the blade so much that it will fall." Tsunade flicked her finger up, sending the kunai spinning into the air, before grabbing it by the handle and presenting it to the young kunoichi. "Master this, and not only will your control be better, you'll also be able to use this technique to help your defenses in combat. Think you can do it?"_

_Kushina nodded eagerly and took the weapon from the sannin's hand. "You betcha! Just watch, I'll have this down in no time!"_

Needless to say, the exercise was _not_ going how she imagined it would. Every finger sported multiple cuts, even after Tsunade had periodically stepped in to heal them so she could continue the exercise. She still hadn't completely figured out how much chakra she needed to keep the kunai away from her skin without sending it flying, and on the few tries she got lucky and managed to keep it resting on her finger, the kunai wobbled and fell after a few scant seconds. Her mind was starting to get frustrated, and her body was seriously exhausted. What was worse was, thanks to her incredible stamina and endurance, her chakra reserves were replenishing themselves even as she sat there, and as they grew, Kushina found it harder and harder to control exactly how much chakra she channeled to her finger.

"Did you do this?" Kahoko's accusing voice jolted her out of her musing. "No," she answered herself, "you couldn't have."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kushina scowled.

"You couldn't have the power to make such a mess. Tsunade-sama must have done this."

"How would you know?! You don't know anything about my abilities!"

"Hmph," Kahoko dismissed, before eyeing the kunai between her bloody fingers. "Still playing with kunai? What kind of ninja are you if you can't handle a blade without cutting yourself?"

Kushina felt anger boil beneath her skin, her muscles tensing they prepared for the inevitable explosion of temper.

Minato saw this, though, and quickly intervened. "It's a chakra control exercise, isn't it, Kushina?"

His teammate turned to look at him curiously. "Chakra control exercise?"

Minato nodded, pulling out one of his kunai and, to Kushina's deep consternation, balancing it perfectly on a finger, point down. "You have to use chakra to keep the kunai from cutting you while, at the same time, keeping it balanced."

Tsunade, who had been watching the genin interact with amusement, arched a brow at seeing the eleven year-old's perfect demonstration of the exercise. "Where'd you learn to do that, kid?"

Minato put the kunai away and shrugged. "I read about the exercise in a book once."

Kushina snorted, trying to hide her depression and feelings of inadequacy. "Bookworm."

The blond smiled sheepishly. Tsunade, however, still wasn't completely buying it. "It's one thing to read about it, another to actually do it. Chuunin have trouble with this drill."

He shrugged again. "I did have to ask Jiraiya-sensei for some tips."

His red headed friend rolled her eyes. Damn genius. She suppressed a sigh, looking at her mangled fingers. Minato followed her gaze, and frowned at her injuries. Quickly making his way over to her, he knelt and gently grabbed her wrists, pulling them so that he could inspect her hands. "Don't these hurt?"

Kushina grimaced, taking her hands back. "You're not my mother, Namikaze. They're fine. Weren't you the one practically bed ridden yesterday 'ttebane?"

The boy stuck his hand into one of his pouches and rummaged around. "I'm fine now. Maybe a little sore and stiff. But I slept straight through the rest of the day and last night after you left, so I'm much better now." Finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a roll of bandages and a tube of ointment and reached for one of her hands.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" Kushina spluttered, pulling her hands further back. Minato snapped his arm forward, putting his speed to work, and grabbed her wrist again, bringing it back toward him. Keeping his surprisingly firm grip on her, he opened the tube of ointment with his other hand and began gently smoothing it over her cuts.

"Treating your injuries," he said simply, oblivious to Tsunade's wide amused smirk and Kahoko's growing anger. The girl actually made to step forward and interfere, but Borome held her back.

"You don't need to do that dattebane!" To her frustration, Kushina couldn't keep a blush from coloring her face as her friend continued to apply ointment, despite her protests.

"Of course I do. You helped me yesterday," he said. Finished with the one hand, he put the ointment down and grabbed the bandages. Skillfully, he began to wrap each individual finger, making sure the gauze was smooth and snug around her appendages, but not too tight.

"That's different!"

He tilted his head. "How?"

_This is too embarrassing!_ Aloud, she said nothing, unable to come up with a legitimate retort. Minato thus continued to work, quickly finishing one hand before doing the same to the other. His touch was soft and gentle, but sure, sending tingles up Kushina's arm that she stubbornly ignored. As soon as his fingers loosened their grip when he was done, she yanked her hands away and crossed her arms, glowering at Minato with what was supposed to be a scowl on her face but actually just looked like a pout.

Minato smiled widely before standing and extending a hand. Kushina glared at it for a moment, before sighing and accepting, causing his grin to grow even larger. He gently pulled her up and she brushed herself off.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Anytime," the blond replied sincerely. She pouted again, lips jutting out cutely.

"If you're _done_, Minato-kun," called Kahoko, rage barely restrained in her voice, "We have team practice, _remember_?"

Kushina rolled her eyes, but said, "She's right. Hop to it, blondie. I'll see you later." She waved and turned.

"Hold it!" Tsunade's voice stopped her. "And where do you think you're going brat?"

The red head looked at her in confusion.

"You're going to help these three clean the mess you made," she stated, and grinned as she watched the girl's shoulders droop.

"The mess _she _made?"

Tsunade ignored her.

"In the mean time," she continued, "While you all put this place back together, I'm going to go set up a little exercise I had in mind." She turned, called over her shoulder, "Get to it!" and disappeared.

Kushina sighed and started lifting chunks of earth that were packed in enough to stay together. The others did the same. Working from one end of the clearing to the other, the four of them slowly put the grounds back to a somewhat respectable field again, filling in craters, smoothing out loose dirt, chucking aside rocks that had emerged from the fractured earth. It was a dull and tiresome project, and with everyone still somewhat in their morning moods, they were for the most part quiet.

At one point, Kushina found herself next to Borome, who decided to actually make some small talk. "So, how do you and Minato know each other?"

"He was in the same academy class when as I was when I transferred from Whirlpool."

"Oh? When was that?"

"Uh, about two years ago, I guess."

"Cool. Why did you move here from Whirlpool?"

The red head flinched, and almost dropped the small boulder (or large rock, depending on how you looked at it) on her foot. "Err—"

"Amazing, Minato-kun! How are you so strong?" a loud voice reverberated throughout the clearing, making both Kushina and Borome turn their attention to the source. Next to Kahoko, Minato was carrying a boulder about half as tall as he was (mind you, though, he was sort of on the short side) with ease to the edge of the field, where he gently placed it down by the tree line.

"Oh, uh – I learned how to use chakra to enhance my muscle activity."

"That's so _impressive_," she cooed, making Minato wince, "Would you teach me how?"

"Sure?"

Kahoko gave a little squeal in delight. "Thank you!"

Kushina watched the interaction with a grimace, and made a show of rubbing her abused ears. "Is she always like this?"

Borome shook his head. "You should see her when she gets angry. Although, it's a little worse around you, I think."

"Hey, that's not my fault dattebane. She's the one who acted like a she had just swallowed a bee or something when we met. If she has a problem with me, she should just say so and we can fight it out." Kushina cracked her knuckles menacingly.

The ashen haired boy started to sweat a little. "Aha…It's not that she has a problem with _you_, personally. She's just…jealous?"

The kunoichi snorted. "Why the hell would she be jealous of me? Namikaze and I are just friends."

Borome gave her a blank look. "You're a girl. You tell me."

Kushina sighed. "Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean I understand my own kind."

He pointed a triumphant finger at her. "Ha! You admit it – girls are a whole different species!"

She stuck up her tongue in response. "So are boys."

"Boys are what?" Minato piped in, walking over with Kahoko. The clearing was just about down now.

"A different species," the red head responded.

"Hey, we're a simple bunch," Borome interjected. "We're not catty or play weird mind games with each other. Right, Minato?"

"Err…"

"Humph," Kahoko said, crossing her arms, "Boys are simple, alright. Simple_minded_. Dangle some food in front of you and you're done, hook, line, and sinker."

"Hey, I'm a growing boy!"

"_Growing which way?_" both girls of the group uttered simultaneously. They caught each other's eyes before quickly turning away with a huff.

"See?!"

"Do you guys normally chit chat this much during training?" Tsunade was back, hands on her hips. Immediately, the four genin straightened, standing at attention. "Well, at least you got this field fixed."

"Can I go?"

"Well, I suppose. If you've got nothing to do, though, you might as well stick around. Never hurts to train some more."

Kushina hesitated.

"Why don't you stay, Kushina?" Minato encouraged. "Then after this you can show me that new idea for the seal you had."

"Let her go, Minato-kun. She probably just doesn't want to slow us down."

Kushina's cheeks grew red with anger as she glowered at the smug, raven-haired girl. "Fine. I'll stay."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at their antics. "Well, now that that's decided, we can start. Starting today, I'm going to teach you guys a bit about tracking. Now, when you're assigned squads for missions, most times they'll try to put a tracking specialist on your team. Sometimes they can't, though, so every shinobi should know the basics of how to track."

The four children nodded in understanding.

"About fifteen minutes ago, while you all were cleaning up, I sent Katsuyu out into the forest."

"Katsuyu?" Borome questioned.

"My summon. A slug," Tsunade clarified.

Kahoko made a face. "A _slug_?"

"Yes." Tsunade eyed her coolly. "Got a problem with that?"

She shrank under the heavy gaze. "Uh, no!"

The sannin looked away from her. "Anyway, your job is to find her."

Sounded simple enough, except… "How do we know when we have? It's not like we know what she looks like," Kushina brought up.

"And how can we track her if we don't know where her trail starts?" Minato added.

Tsunade shrugged. "That's your problem," she said smugly.

The four gaped at her. "That's ridiculous!" Kahoko insisted.

The experience ninja arched a brow. "Is it? There will be missions where you have to find someone or something in another _country_ with less intel than I'm giving you now."

"What intel?!"

"I told you she's a slug, didn't I? Now you all better start. If you don't find her by noon, you guys are buying me lunch."

"You'd make kids pay for your food?!" Borome spluttered, incredulously. Beside him, Kushina and Kahoko looked equally aghast. Only Minato appeared unsurprised.

"Hey, in the eyes of the village, you all are adults. Or are you not ninja?" Tsunade retorted. "Now instead of wasting time negotiating the terms of your punishment, should you fail, shouldn't you be focusing on completing the mission? You only have three and a half hours after all."

The genin scrambled away.

* * *

"So, how do we even start?"

The question hung in the air, and none of the four genin seemed to want to reply. It was Minato who broke the silence.

"Well, here's what we know about her – she's a slug."

"And she's a summon," Kushina piped up.

"How's that supposed to help us?" Kahoko snapped at her, making Kushina scowl. The red head opened her mouth to retort, but before an argument could break out, Minato quickly intervened.

"Very true, Kushina," he placated, "So what can we garner from that information that might help us figure out where to look?"

"If she's a slug, she probably wants to avoid dry, hot places," Borome mused, finger on his chin.

"But she's not a normal slug," Kushina pointed out.

"Er…"

"I agree with Borome," Minato said, "Even though she's not a normal slug, and could probably do just fine in any climate, she still a slug, and has natural instincts. I'd wager that Tsunade-sama didn't really give her specific orders where to go, so she probably wandered to somewhere comfortable to her."

The others didn't seem to have any protest to that. "So where do we look?" Kahoko asked.

"Some place wet?" the blond pondered, "We're not exactly a swampy place, but maybe somewhere in the forest by a creek or small river?"

"Where do we find that? The training ground forests are huge," Borome pointed out.

"We can start by going this way," Minato pointed east. "I know there's a large river there – I train by it sometimes. If we don't run into a creek along the way, we can at least start there, since a lot of streams empty into bigger rivers."

"Sounds like a plan dattebane," Kushina remarked, hopping up from her perch on a boulder. "Let's go. We can also look for trails and stuff too – slugs leave slime trails don't they?"

Kahoko made a face. "Ew."

Kushina rolled her eyes. "How can you be a ninja if you get grossed out by stuff like that?"

Kahoko crossed her arms defensively. "It's not like I'm letting it get in the way of my duties! I'm just uncomfortable with it! Even though we're ninja, there's nothing wrong with keeping a little _femininity, _you know."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kushina growled, approaching the girl menacingly.

"I thought it was fairly obvious. Or are you as stupid as you look?"

Letting loose an outraged cry, Kushina launched herself at the girl, but was caught by Minato's strong arm around her midsection. Borome had a grip on Kahoko too, keeping them apart.

"Let's keep things calm, shall we?" Minato suggested, a little nervously. "I mean, we're all friends here, right?"

Two pairs of eyes shot glares at him.

"Okay, comrades? We're on the same side – we shouldn't be fighting," Minato pleaded.

"Yeah," his male teammate agreed, "We have a mission to do, too – _I_ for one don't want to be paying for that crazy lady's meal."

The two girls relaxed their stances, making their captors cautiously step back. "Fine," Kahoko said, brushing some imaginary dust from her clothes.

"Yeah. Fine, dattebane," Kushina grumbled, before stalking off.

Minato sighed, and followed with his teammates. _Borome's got a point. I can't understand girls at _all_, no matter what Jiraiya-sensei tries to tell me._

They walked for a while, keeping their eyes and ears out for distinctive marks or the tell-tale sound of running water. Eventually, they made it to the river Minato was talking about, but all of them agreed the Katsuyu was not likely there, since the river bank was very rocky – an unfriendly environment from a slug. They picked a creek that trickled into the larger body of water and made their way into the forests again. The air was cool under the shade of the trees, and a pleasant breeze would occasionally whistle by them, making the branches over their heads shake a pleasing sound. However, as over an hour passed by, with no sign of the slug, the group was starting to get frustrated again.

It was Minato who, thankfully, finally saw something.

"Look!"

"Look at what?" Borome said, squinting in the direction of his pointed finger.

Minato walked a few steps away from the river, and knelt. "See? The ground here is a little damper."

Looking carefully, his teammates could see what he was talking about - a narrow strip of the dirt was a little darker than the rest, and, when they touched it, a little moist.

"It's kind of ridiculous that you noticed that," Kushina sighed. Borome and even Kahoko nodded slowly in agreement. Minato rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, before standing.

"Come on, let's follow the trail."

The group moved more quickly than before, a little more excited and eager now that it seemed like they were finally getting somewhere. They lost the wet trail periodically over bits of grass, but would quickly relocate it. Eventually, though, the trail stopped cold. The grass here was lush and tall, making it impossible for the genin to discern any moist markings.

Kahoko and Borome sighed in depression – almost three hours had passed. They didn't have much time left. Minato thought hard, looking around carefully for anything that might help them out. He didn't particularly mind paying for Tsunade's lunch, but he saw the value in being able to track, and wanted to finish the training exercise with a success.

"She can't have been here too long ago. The trail just before here still had some slime – meaning she was here recently enough that not enough time has passed for the ground to soak up the moisture too much," he thought aloud.

Kushina stepped forward. "If that's the case, this might work." Minato watched curiously as she made a series of hand signs before slamming her palm down on the ground. To Minato's fascination, an intricate array of ink markings shot out from underneath her hand. Kushina closed her eyes, concentrating.

"…I think she's in a tree – about ten meters….that way." She pointed to her right.

Team 4's jaws dropped. "How do you know that?!" Kahoko spluttered.

"It's the seal," Minato said, somewhat in awe. He scrutinized it – Kushina had been teaching him some basics of the art over the past month, and he could recognize some bits of it. "A detection seal?"

Kushina nodded. She lifted her hand away, and the ink faded. "It detects chakra. I figured that since she's a summon, and Tsunade-sama's summon to boot, she must have an active chakra network."

Minato grinned at her, impressed.

"How do you know how to do that?" Borome wondered. "The only seal we learned in the Academy was the one for explosive tags."

The red head shrugged. "My clan, the Uzumaki, is really good at seals. My mother's one of the best seal masters in Whirlpool. She's been tutoring me. This is a pretty basic seal, though. A lot of older ninja know it."

"Wow," Borome remarked, obviously unable to really think of anything to say past that. Even Kahoko seemed to look at her with a reluctant new amount of respect. Minato's smile grew wider. He'd always known she was skilled, and he was happy that others were beginning to see it, too.

"Come on, let's see if I'm right," Kushina said, motioning to them to get moving. "It _should_ be her. But if it's some academy student napping, or an Inuzuka puppy or something, I'm going to be very pissed 'ttebane."

The four quickly moved in the direction she had pointed to, eager to finish with the exercise. Kushina had to perform the seal one more time, but they shortly found the exact tree housing the chakra signature. It wasn't a particularly thick tree, so Minato walked up it alone to investigate while the others waited below.

About five meters up – since that was how high Kushina had told him the chakra was – he began to carefully search the branches. His teammates down below held their breath, but after a couple of minutes, the blonds head poked out from the foliage with a wide grin. "Found her!"

He dropped down, a white and blue slug tucked carefully into the cradle of his arm.

Kushina and Borome whooped in celebration, pumping their fists in the air.

"It's _huge_!" Kahoko exclaimed. Katsuyu was about the length of Minato's forearm.

"Congratulations on completing the exercise," the slug said. The genin (sans Minato, who had seen Jiraiya's summons before) jumped at the voice, obviously not expecting it to talk. "I will inform Tsunade-sama of your success."

The group watched with various expressions as a bulge started to form on the slug's back, slowly taking a distinct shape, before it _separated _from Katsuyu and dropped to the ground, making the four children leap back. "I suggest you go back to the training field and wait for her there," the new slug said with the _same voice as the slug still in Minato's arms_, before disappearing with a poof.

Kahoko belatedly screamed.

* * *

After scolding them on how long it took them to find the slug, and then giving them a carefully covered compliment on their success, Tsunade declared that day's training session over, to the genin's delight. Tsunade warned them, though, that the next day would be much more physically intensive, the make up for the current day's relatively relaxed ("You call sending us out into the woods after some talking slug 'relaxing'?" Borome murmured under his breath) exercise. Kahoko and Borome sighed at that, but then quickly left before Tsunade could give them grief about their whining. Kushina and Minato stuck around, the former to confirm Tsunade's promise to train her the next morning, the latter under the pretext of tightening his leg wrappings.

Kushina stood over him, watching his actions skeptically. "Why do you keep trying to hide that you've been practicing extra with Tsunade-sama?"

Standing up, he shook his head. "I'm not hiding it – they sort of know I train with Jiraiya-sensei outside of practice. But there's no need to rub it in their faces."

The red head scowled. "I know you're Mr. Humble and all, but you should be careful dattebane. Treating them like their some pansies that can't take it when their comrade's more advanced than them can hurt their ego's more than you getting a little extra personal training."

Tsunade watched their interaction with a small smile on her face. The girl was cleverer than she let on. And it was nice to see someone their age not afraid to scold the prodigy.

Minato only rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, obviously not really sure what to say to that. "I don't want to hurt their feelings."

To Tsunade's immense surprise and amusement the girl whacked his head with her fist, grinding her knuckles into the blonde's skull. He double over in pain, and raised both hands to rub his abused head with a pout on his lips. "Don't be an idiot 'ttebane. We're ninja. We can take a little healthy competition. You're already younger than them. What are you going to do when you're a _captain_ younger than your team? Cuz let's face it, Namikaze, you're going to move up ranks fast. You can't keep tip toeing around your comrades just because of it 'ttebane. If they're any sort of decent person, they'll be happy for your accomplishments. If they're _good_ people, they'll use you success to motivate them to work harder. If they just get jealous, then obviously they've got a rotten apple for a heart and aren't worth your time or concern anyway."

Minato straightened, still rubbing his sore cranium. "But—" The girl threateningly raised her fists once more. He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay! I'll think about it," he told the red head before asking, "Are you going to stay?" somewhat hopefully.

Kushina shook her head. "I have my own team practice to get to, dattebane. But I'll come back after I'm done. Don't think I've forgotten our plans for today."

"…Er, I don't know our plans anyway."

She patted his shoulder. Weirdly, the gesture was more ominous than comforting. "And you don't need to. Yet, anyway. Don't worry it'll be fun." She started to walk away. "Bye Tsunade ba-san!"

"'Ba-san (2)'?" the sannin repeated, faintly amused, "Cheeky brat." She raised her voice to call after her, "You should be calling me 'sensei'!"

Minato laughed, making the kunoichi switch her attentions to him. "What are you laughing about, kid? Seems like you've got your own problems."

"What do you mean?" the boy asked innocently.

"You're not worried about these so called 'plans' of hers?"

Cerulean eyes blinked. "No, should I be?"

Tsunade snorted. "I don't know – I'd be suspicious if I were you."

Minato shrugged. "She said it'd be fun. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

"This is your idea of 'fun'?!" Minato shouted at her, his voice sounding uncharacteristically panicked. Wind rushed through his blonde locks as they flew over rooftops. He looked over his shoulder to see the three figures chasing them pick up speed.

"I told you I didn't want you flaking out on me yesterday for a reason dattebane!" Kushina replied over her shoulder, voice raised. There was a large, smug grin on her face, like the cat that had gotten the canary. "I can't believe we pulled it off!" She was on high, the exhilarating adrenaline rush making her feet lighter and her muscles push harder.

"I don't think being caught and chased by three ANBU exactly constitutes 'pulling it off'!" Minato shouted back.

"Well you should have done a better job being look-out!" the girl cheerfully replied, long hair streaming behind her like vibrant flames.

"I was shocked when I realized what you were doing!"

"You still let your guard down!"

Instead of responding, Minato chanced another glance behind him. Kushina followed his gaze. The ANBU were definitely closer now, but she was okay with that. She had done what she came here to do, and the thrill of her success wouldn't die even if they did catch them.

Suddenly though, a strong pair of hands grabbed her waist and threw her high. She shrieked, closing her eyes on the descent, but landed on a warm back, legs hanging over a pair of arms on either side of a waist.

"Namikaze!" she exclaimed. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"I'm not interested in being caught by ANBU today, thanks!" he told her. "Now hold on tight!"

With that, he _shot_ forward like a bullet, easily doubling their previous pace. She yelped and quickly grabbed his shoulders to keep herself from flying backwards. _So fast!_ The distance between them and their chasers grew and grew as Minato dashed over buildings with insane speed. In front of them, the sun began to casually set, washing a warm orange glow over the village and throwing light directly onto the Hokage mountainside. The chiseled faces were made more severe with the angled light, but the effect was marred by the words that now decorated the façade, gleaming proudly in red paint.

_Uzumaki Kushina will be the Strongest 'ttebane!_

* * *

(1) shishi odoshi = often a feature in Japanese water gardens. A sort of hollow bamboo container on a pivot, it collects water before tipping forward to release it, creating a rhythmic thumping sound.

(2) ba-san = means 'aunt'.

**A/N: I got the chapter up eventually, right? And is anyone else super curious about Minato's Rasen Senkou Chou somethingorother?**

**Leave a review! Pretty please with a cherry on top? :D**


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